


The Warlock of Grayskull

by a_smol_golem



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Alternate Universe - Dungeons & Dragons, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Childhood Friends, Childhood Trauma, Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, Dungeons & Dragons References, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Grayskull is Adora's Warlock Patron, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, POV Adora (She-Ra), POV Alternating, POV Catra (She-Ra), POV Glimmer (She-Ra), Slow Burn, Some Humor, TW for panic attack in Chapter 10, Tags May Change, Violence, no seriously what's beta
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:40:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 91,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25365505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_smol_golem/pseuds/a_smol_golem
Summary: Adora's been doing just fine since she joined the Horde as a child. Or more accurately, stolen from the orphanage where she grew up and ripped away from her childhood best friend. But that was something she could live with. Right? The Horde was working to bring peace and order to all of Etheria, and everything she had been through will have been worth it if they succeed. Or at least that's what she forces herself to believe. But when she stumbles into an ancient ruin and forges a pact with a mysterious entity that manifests in the form of a powerful sword, she struggles with countless questions as her world turns on its head. What did it mean to be She-Ra, the title she "earned" after claiming the sword? Who was Grayskull, and what did he want with her?A She-ra AU set in a heavily Dungeons and Dragons-inspired world. In this AU, Adora is an aasimar fighter/hexblade warlock, Catra is a tabaxi shadow monk, Bow is a half elf arcane archer fighter, and Glimmer is a human divine soul sorcerer. Note that you don't have to be familiar with D&D to read, I just draw inspiration for the world and everyone's abilities from the rulebooks.
Relationships: Adora & Bow & Glimmer (She-Ra), Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Adora & Glimmer (She-Ra), Adora & Micah (She-Ra), Adora & Shadow Weaver | Light Spinner (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra), Catra & Entrapta & Scorpia (She-Ra), Catra & Shadow Weaver | Light Spinner (She-Ra), Entrapta & Hordak (She-Ra), Glimmer & Micah (She-Ra), Hordak & Imp (She-Ra), Hordak & Shadow Weaver | Light Spinner (She-Ra), Netossa/Spinnerella (She-Ra)
Comments: 85
Kudos: 71





	1. Good Day/Bad Day (The Beginning Part 1)

**Author's Note:**

> I thought I'd write this during quarantine because I was bored to combine two things I like, D&D and She-Ra. The beginning will have a few parallels to the season one story line, but that'll change quick as it goes on. There will be romance eventually, I swear. I'm writing this for fun and it's the basically first story/fanfic I've written EVER not counting school projects and stuff I wrote when I was six, so don't bite my head off please if some things aren't the best. Constructive criticism is welcome though. Hope you enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Glimmer and Bow have a heart-to-heart and go on an adventure. Adora receives her first mission. Shadow Weaver sucks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, world building and exposition time. This should be fun.

The princess of Bright Moon was having a _terrible_ day today. Glimmer just ran off after getting into a fight with her father. _Again._ Now, she was sitting where she always went after something hurt her feelings badly enough- the mural room. The room was beautiful and full of color and life, with multicolored plants that filled the room and a small waterfall in the corner.

However, the beauty of the other aspects of the room paled in comparison to the main feature. On the largest wall was a massive mural that King Micah himself had commissioned an artist to paint a stunning depiction of his late wife and Glimmer’s mother, Queen Angella. Being in that room soothed Glimmer to some extent. She felt better there, more at peace, which helped calm her down when she was feeling as distraught as she was that moment.

Glimmer had tried a more subtle approach this time, which was probably why it didn’t work. She had never been the greatest at subtlety. She’d much rather get right to the point than dance around the problem at hand with fancy words and flattery, which was a not-insignificant sized part of being a princess. After the first few fights, Glimmer decided that maybe a different approach should be taken instead of barreling into the problem head-on like she always did. She had _tried_ to sprinkle in small suggestions, small nudges in what she thought was the right direction.

Her father, of course, had read her like a book. King Micah knew his own daughter too well to be fooled, which had started the argument that had culminated in them practically screaming at each other. If her mother was still alive, Glimmer was certain she’d be on her side. She wouldn’t turn their back on the people of the world, wouldn’t only try to defend their small but prosperous kingdom, wouldn’t try to treat Glimmer like a small child who had to be coddled and couldn’t be trusted with making her own decisions.

 _It’s not fair_ , she thought, angry tears streaming down her cheeks. _He won’t listen to me._ She continued to sit in front of the painting for some time until she felt the boiling pressure in her head begin to subside a small degree. She was still angry, but she felt like she was more in control of herself now. _Remember what Mom always said_. She pictured the memory of her mother, soothing her and getting her to calm down.

“Breathe,” she would always tell her daughter. “Anger should never be allowed to grip your heart, but if you do find it within you, let it out slowly. Calm yourself, be at peace, and it will never be able to rule you.” Easier said than done.

She glanced up at the serene image of her mother’s face, gazing into the distance with a small smile on her painted face. She wanted _so badly_ for her to be there. She would have given anything in the world to see her mother again, to tell her how much she missed her and how much she needed her now. Things in Bright Moon had been getting worse ever since the Princess Alliance had been shattered 7 years earlier, and the Horde was creeping ever closer.

Glimmer was shaken from her thoughts by the sound of boots hitting the floor with a faint _thud_. She sniffled and wiped her eyes, not turning around. She already knew who it was. 

“I thought I might find you here,” a voice softly said. She heard more footsteps as they got closer and then she saw Bow, her best friend, sit down beside her. For a while, there was silence between the two of them. The only sounds they heard were the flowing of the waterfall, the soft chirp of birds, and each others’ breathing. She waited for him to say something, anything to make her feel better. He had a knack for getting people to calm down, a voice of reason in a hurricane of chaos.

“I heard what happened,” he broke the silence after a while. “You wanna talk about it?”

Glimmer let out a hefty sigh, nodded, and looked over at her friend. The dark-skinned half elf boy had been her closest, and as a matter of fact her only friend since they were children. His fathers had been hired by King Micah as advisors when she was just a little kid and had met their youngest son soon after, an inquisitive youth who had a passion for both knowledge and archery.

They had been almost inseparable since then, opting to do everything they could together. King Micah regarded their friendship with enthusiasm. “When you become queen, you’re going to need to have people like him watching your back,” he had said. Glimmer wished she could go back to those days, where her mother was there and her father was happy and everything was, well, perfect.

“He won’t listen to me, Bow!” Glimmer cried, her anger returning a bit for recalling the fight. “I keep trying to get him to fight, to get him to stand up for our kingdom and for the world, but he won’t!”

“You know he’s just trying to protect you, right? He’s trying to protect everyone. Waging an all-out war against the Horde went really badly last time, and he doesn’t want to lose you or anyone else,” Bow said, attempting to stick up for the king.

Despite the effort, Glimmer was persistent. “But if we sit around and do nothing, the Horde will overrun us eventually! We’ve barely been able to hold them back for this long, and sooner or later they’re going to come in here in full force and conquer Bright Moon!” she shouted.

She could still see the look on her father's face in her mind, played out over and over. The look of rage and despair in his eyes as he argued with her. Saying she was wrong. Saying she was going to get herself and other people killed.

“I keep trying to tell him that, but he won’t listen! He thinks he’s protecting me, protecting us all by playing a defensive battle, but it can’t last forever. We need to fight back and make sure the Horde never hurts anyone again.”

There was a brief silence before she added, quietly, “I won’t let what happened to Mom happen to anyone else.” She refused to let her father’s words come to pass. She was going to prove him wrong. She was not going to let anyone else go through the pain of losing a loved one. Yet, there was a knot in her stomach that refused to go away.

After a moment, Bow slowly but determinedly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. “I miss her, too,” he said as Glimmer reciprocated. The knot in Glimmer’s stomach deepened. Their families were very close, and her mother had considered Bow one of her own. They would play for hours together when Angella had the time, and she often used to put Bow and Glimmer on her lap as she told them stories about heroes, monsters, and celestial beings way past their bedtime. Her loss had devastated him as much as it had her father and her.

“She would be so _proud_ if she could see you now, I know it.”

Glimmer looked up at him, the tension in her body beginning to uncoil. “You think so?” she asked in a small voice, smaller than she intended. Bow smiled at her, a warm smile that made the tension uncoil even more. He unwrapped his arms from around her and then put them on her shoulders reassuringly.

“I know so,” he said with confidence. “It’s really brave of you to want to protect other people. Not everyone feels so inclined to defend the people they care about that fiercely. That’s how I know you’ll be a good queen one day. Look, I know your dad’s being a bit… overprotective right now, but I know he’ll come around and realize that you aren’t going to stop trying to help people. You will get him to listen to you. I know you will.”

Glimmer smiled, her cheeks a bit flushed from embarrassment. She felt better than she had all day now that Bow was with her, cheering her up. He had a way of doing that. “Thanks, Bow. I needed that.”

Bow smiled, but was it short-lived as his eyes widened and he smacked his head. “Oh yeah! I almost forgot to tell you, but I just remembered! You’re gonna love this. So we were in the Whispering Woods today and Lance said he sensed something super powerful in there near where we were. So we got to talking and we think it could be a First Ones’ relic, and a powerful one at that!” Bow said, his voice cracking slightly like it always did when he was excited.

Glimmer’s eyes widened. “Really? Do you know what it is? Where is it? Is it nearby?” she managed to blurt out, her mind buzzing with excitement. She speed-walked out to the window and began scouring the trees near the castle as if she would catch a glimpse of some mystical artifact. An idea had popped into her mind, one that could solve all her problems.

“Yes, no, I don’t know, and yeah, I’m pretty sure,” Bow replied with a calm that was in stark contrast to Glimmer’s current emotions. “What are you thinking?” Glimmer spun 180 degrees back to him in one fluid motion. “Let’s go out and find it! The First Ones’ relic!” 

Bow blanched. “What?” he almost shrieked. “I mean, it would be cool, but you’re not supposed to leave the castle without an escort, and Lance said that it could be dangerous and nobody’s supposedtogooutintheWhisperingWoodsaloneandwhatifsomethinghappens-”

“Bow!” Glimmer shouted to cut him off, knowing that when he panicked like this he started rambling without end. She put her hands on his shoulders in an attempt to calm him, which did seem to have some success.

“I need to prove to my dad that I can handle myself, and this is the perfect opportunity. If we get this, he’ll have to admit that I know what I’m doing and that I’m right about the Horde, and we’ll also have a super-powerful weapon to fight them with!” Glimmer was practically bouncing off the walls in excitement.

“And besides,” she said with a smile, seeming to calm down for a moment. “You’re my escort.” She punched his shoulder in a light-hearted manner before heading for the door. “Come on Bow, we can do this. We have to do this.”

Bow looked at her with uncertainty, but then his eyes steeled as he came to a decision. “Let’s do this,” he said with determination. “Give me five minutes and I’ll be down and ready to go.” Glimmer grinned wide. “Yes!” she shouted, raising her fist in the air. “I have a great feeling about this!” The two friends moved to exit the room, excited about the possibilities the day could bring. 

\-------------------------

The newest Force Captain of the Horde was having a _fantastic_ day today. Adora had woken up bright and early, excited to start her first day with her new rank. She held the small green pin etched with the Horde emblem that had been given to her in her promotion ceremony in her hand, admiring it from every angle.

 _Force Captain,_ She thought, almost giddy. _I’m a Force Captain now!_ After 10 years of intense training as a soldier for the Horde, her family, her valiant efforts had been recognized by Lord Hordak himself. It was Lord Hordak who first deemed Adora worthy for cadet training all those years ago, and she climbed to the top with vigor. She was determined to show him how right he was to choose her. And she did.

All the same, she did feel a slight pang of sadness for an instant as she ruminated over her new position. She only wished that-

 _No, s_ he thought, forcing the feelings down. The Horde taught their cadets to be cold and ruthless. Kindness was a weakness. Friends would get them killed. She shouldn’t worry about someone who had exited her life years ago, who clearly didn’t even care about her or where she was. She shouldn’t be sad that she wasn’t there by her side as she reached heights few in the Horde could hope to achieve. Yet as hard as she tried, that pang remained, determined not to be forgotten. Adora grunted with annoyance and dropped the matter, deciding to ignore it until it went away.

After putting on her utilitarian Horde uniform, pinning her Force Captain pin onto her chest, and putting her dirty blonde hair into her signature ponytail, she was ready to go. She moved to exit her room, then turned around to face the enemy behind her. The “enemy” was an old punching bag that had pinned on it a tattered piece of banner that Adora had painted a face of a princess on.

“Hey, _princess,”_ she said. “You looking at me?” She wasted no time before landing a solid roundhouse kick on the punching bag, leaving it swaying like a drunkard as she moved for the door, satisfied.

Leaving her room, she briskly strode down the halls of the Fright Zone, the Horde’s biggest fort near the kingdom of Bright Moon. That wasn’t the fort’s official name, of course, but everyone had taken to calling it that because it gave off a certain feel that fit the place just fine. Once just a small outpost used for scouting into Bright Moon territory, it had grown into one of the primary fortresses of the Horde, one they would use as a stepping stone to pierce into the princesses’ lands.

When they conquered those rebellious kingdoms, everyone would at long last live in peace and prosperity under the Horde’s banner. Adora dreamed of the day when that could happen. She’d been training to make that day a reality for years, and now was her chance. She moved toward the briefing area, where other Force Captains sat. Her heart was thumping in her chest. After her promotion, she had been instructed to report to the briefing area the following morning. Adora wasn’t completely sure of what they would be doing, but she knew one thing- Something big was going down. The Horde had to be finally making their push into Bright Moon.

She walked into the door to the briefing area and sat down at once. There were only two other Force Captains in the room- Grizzlor and Octavia, who were sitting down in two of the four chairs in the room. Grizzlor was a beast of a person, with arms like tree trunks, a thick mane of brown hair, and piercing yellow eyes. Octavia was tall and imposing, with green skin, fins on the side of her head, and the eyepatch that had adorned her face for as long as Adora could remember. She didn’t know how Octavia lost the eye, only that anyone who brought it up in front of her was quick to regret it.

They looked up at her in silent acknowledgment, then Octavia grunted, “Alright, let’s get this over with.” Adora felt a bit confused. “Aren’t we missing someone?” she asked, pointing to the empty chair.

“Actually, Force Captain Scorpia is currently acting as an escort for… someone of great interest to the Horde at my temple,” a cold, drawling voice said behind Adora, making her jump. She whirled around to see the familiar yet unsettling figure of Shadow Weaver standing behind her, a masked woman with red robes and jet-black hair that seemed to ignore gravity. Why was _she_ the one briefing them?

Adora had had plenty of interactions with Shadow Weaver in the past, none of them pleasant. The first one least pleasant of all. Adora tried to push the memories down, but they came surging into her mind:

_Screaming. Screams of fear. Sadness. Anger. Desperation. “No!” Adora screamed, her 9 year old lungs feeling like they would be ripped in two. “Give her back!” She reached for her best friend, her closest companion since she got to the orphanage, but she was dragged away by arms stronger than she could hope to resist. The heavy gauntlets of Lord Hordak gripped her tightly as he took her away. “You belong with us, child. You may yet stand by my side one day, with the potential I see in you.”_

_Shadow Weaver look_ _ed at Adora as she dragged Catra in the opposite direction, her face almost apologetic._ It should have been you _, Adora felt her voice piercing in her mind, hissing in anger._ You hold so much power. Instead I have this consolation prize, this girl hardly worth keeping alive, let alone training. _Every word was like a spike being driven deeper into her mind, and she cried until she had no more tears left to give. Hordak brought her to the other children, all quivering in fear like her. Shadow Weaver gripped the frightened girl she was clutching so tight it looked like she might take her hand off, took one last look at Adora, and then vanished into the shadows. Adora had never felt more alone. Her life as she knew it was over. Her best friend was gone._

_Catra was gone._

Adora snapped back into focus, the memories receding as quickly as they had surfaced. “... That is why Force Captain Scorpia is absent at this time, Adora. Does this answer your question?” Adora realized Shadow Weaver was talking to her.

“Uh… Yes, thank you! Now I know, sorry,” Adora laughed nervously. She hoped that no one had noticed her staring blankly into space for the past few seconds. Even after all these years, everything about Shadow Weaver made her skin crawl.

“Of course, Dear. Happy to be of service.” Shadow Weaver drawled, hands clasped in front of her. Her voice, Adora noticed, always took on a strange, unique tone when she talked to her. She supposed Shadow Weaver was trying to make her feel soothed or at ease. To Adora, it felt like she was slowly being drowned in amber. It was not a pleasant sensation.

“Now then,” Shadow Weaver said, her voice shifting back into the usual freezing tone. “The Horde’s mission today is simple. Your target is an area known as Thaymor, an area vital to Bright Moon due to its importance as a farming region. Once we take it, Bright Moon will be severely weakened, leaving it that much easier to bring it under Horde control. The path you and your soldiers will be taking is a mountain pass that will take you from Horde territory to near a forest known as the Whispering Woods. It is a massive blockade created by magic that protects Bright Moon Castle from invasion. Under no circumstances are you to enter the woods. It is a death sentence for all who walk in. No one has ever escaped the woods’ clutches.”

Adora began to find it difficult to swallow without effort. She had heard plenty of stories about the infamous Whispering Woods and the dangers that lurked within. They weren't the kind of stories that left a person with a warm, fuzzy feeling inside.

Shadow Weaver continued. “Stay along the outskirts and try not to be seen for as long as you can. Obviously an army caravan will attract attention, so some of my people will accompany you to buy you time. Though not likely, you may find Thaymor completely unprepared for an attack.” 

Adora’s heart jumped in her chest, and she had to fight to keep a straight face. _Could it be?_ A small part of her hoped. Though she tried to hold it back and deny it, a miniscule part of her clung to the idea that maybe she could see her old friend again, despite what had happened between them. Adora’s mind couldn’t help but drift into a daydream of her and Catra on the field of battle together, fighting alongside each other as they defeated soldier after soldier, laughing all the while.

Adora wasn’t aware of the massive grin that had appeared on her face until she heard Shadow Weaver clear her throat. “Is there anything you wish to add, Adora?” She started and then forced her face into a blank expression and stood up to salute, the movement instinct after years of drilling. “No, Ma’am! Ready to fight for the Horde to bring peace and order to the world,” Adora said at attention.

Octavia rolled her one good eye. Grizzlor snorted loudly with derision.

There was a pause from Shadow Weaver before she said, “Your… enthusiasm… is an inspiration to us all. Dismissed. Report to your squads and prepare them for combat. You leave in 1 hour.” Octavia and Grizzlor shuffled out of the room. Adora moved to as well when she heard Shadow Weaver behind her say, “You know, Adora, my offer still stands.” 

Adora stopped at the door as her blood turned to ice. She made a face as she realized what Shadow Weaver meant. Not this again.

She tried to sound as neutral as she could when she said, voice quavering slightly, “With all due respect, Ma’am, I’m a soldier, not a spy or assassin or anything like that. I was trained since childhood to fight the enemy on the front lines, face to face. I appreciate your offer, but I doubt I’d be a good fit for your ranks.”

Shadow Weaver chuckled. “On the contrary, Adora, I think you’d make an excellent member. You hold so much power-”

Adora flinched at that phrase, painfully reminiscent of what she had said so long ago.

“-that you couldn’t even begin to unlock here. It’s so _wasteful_ I can’t stand it. You have the light of celestials inside you, waiting to be unleashed, yet Hordak insists on making you play soldier,” Shadow Weaver finished. “Just know that you would be welcomed in the temple with open arms.” She finally floated out past Adora, her feet never seeming to touch the ground. 

Adora took a few moments to steady herself. For one thing, any time Shadow Weaver was near her, she got chills. She couldn’t _stand_ the woman, couldn’t _stand_ how she kept asking her to join her. As if Adora would forget she was the one to rip the closest person she ever had to family away from her. Besides, she figured, the one reason she might have joined her vanished years ago. Yes, maybe she would see Catra on the battlefield, but she knew how she felt about her. There would be no heartwarming reunion. There would only be pain.

The second thing that bothered her was the mention of the “light of the celestials,” whatever that was. The first time she heard the phrase was the day the Horde arrived in her town and took her in. Hordak had said that about her when he found her. “You have the light of the celestials in you, child,” he had said to her. “With you in the ranks of the Horde, we could accomplish so much…”

She didn’t know what it had meant then, and she still didn’t know what it meant now. She had asked around at first, with the reactions from the random Horde soldiers she asked ranging from mockery to confusion to fury at being bothered. The resounding answer was no, no one knew what she was talking about. The Horde had taught her so many things, but what Hordak had seen in her that day was not one of them.

She finally managed to force herself to start moving again. She was headed towards the barracks to inform the people under her command to get moving for the mission ahead. Now that the unpleasantness with Shadow Weaver was past, she began to have that bubbly feeling again as she went to the barracks. She had a mission! She had people under her command! Not too many, of course, because of the nature of the mission and since she was still a brand-new force captain. They wouldn't saddle someone like her with a massive force on her first mission. They'd do things according to protocol. Horde soldiers were sticklers for protocol.

As she was finishing this thought, she made it into the barracks to be greeted by three voices. Well, more like two voices and a roar. She _really_ needed to learn Draconic.

“Congratulations!” Adora heard as she was faced with the three soldiers under her command, who happened to be, despite what the Horde said about companions, the closest people she could call to friends there. Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelio were standing in front of her, holding a small but colorful cake. The first was a stocky, dark-skinned girl with tied-up dreadlocks that ran down to her shoulders. The one next to her was a scrawny, awkward boy with a mess of blonde hair. The third was a brawny, intimidating lizardfolk with dull green scales and a permanently stoic look on his face.

“Did you guys-” Adora started, but then Lonnie cut her off.

“Make it? Of course not, we swiped it off some of the older guys that came back from a mission. They took it from some nearby town or something. When we saw that cake, we _knew_ we had to get it!” Lonnie explained, pride obvious in her voice. “So we did! Here’s your gift on that promotion. You earned it, Adora.” Kyle and Rogelio voiced their assent as Adora smiled, a small blush on her face.

She corrected her earlier thought. Not _all_ Horde soldiers were sticklers for protocol.

They all sat down to eat the cake as the three troublemakers took turns explaining how they stole the cake, acting out various scenes in some cases and leaving them all gasping for air for having laughed too hard. At last they finished the cake, the story told, jokes made, most of them at Kyle’s expense. Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelio settled into an expectant silence as they watched Adora.

“What?” she asked, her mouth still full of cake.

Lonnie snorted. “Really, Adora? Come on! The mission! Tell us about it.” Adora had almost forgotten. She managed to swallow the cake in her mouth then lowered her voice as if the four of them were co-conspirators.

“You guys were right, it’s big. We’re all going to Thaymor. The Horde's making their push,” she declared. The room erupted into cheers. Finally, after years of training and work, they were seeing active duty. Finally, they could give their all for the Horde, the place that provided them everything.

Adora smiled with a teasing air, then commanded in a mock-authoritative voice, “Well, what are you waiting for, troops? You’re seeing active duty! Get your gear ready, because we’re moving out!” Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelio snapped to attention to salute their Force Captain, unable to suppress their smiles.

“Sir, yes, Sir!”

\--------------------

Glimmer and Bow left the Mural Room, going in opposite directions. She ran into her room to grab some stuff she needed before heading out. The first thing she made sure to grab was her simple yet well-maintained wooden staff. It was helpful to have around since it made casting certain spells easier. She could handle a dagger or a light crossbow just fine, but she was a caster, not a front-line fighter. Her main thing was magic.

The staff also had been a gift for her father, who had crafted it for her. He refused to let someone else do it, saying that his daughter’s first staff should be one made with love. He let her sit in the room while he carved it. It had been before her mother’s death, so there were less lines on his face and less grey hairs on his head as he sat with a small smile on his face, completely enraptured by the task at hand. Glimmer loved that memory because it reminded her of when things were a bit brighter for the royals of Bright Moon.

Once, the kingdom of Bright Moon had taken a more active stance against the Horde, a militant faction that spread like a plague, conquering area after area. They harshly controlled every region they ruled, restricting the use of magic and other freedoms to an extreme level. This was a harsh contrast to the free “princess” countries, where magic was to be shared and used freely to help others, and everyone was treated with kindness and fairness.

While “princess” was an actual title, the Horde often used it as a derogatory term regarding all magic wielders. The Horde themselves rarely utilized magic. Their ranks were mostly made of common soldiers. However, they also had many artificers, supreme inventors and engineers, who called the Horde home. They had allowed the Horde to keep up with the magic of the other countries by creating advanced weapons of war. One such example was the warforged- metal soldiers built solely for combat.

Her kingdom as well as several others had formed an alliance at one time, standing together to fight the Horde. However, it had all come crashing down in a fateful battle that had occurred several years ago. It had claimed the lives of countless souls, Glimmer’s mother included. This had led to the fracturing of the Princess Alliance, as it had been called, with the kingdoms becoming isolated in an attempt to consolidate their defenses to protect themselves. No one wanted a repeat of the Wailing Morn’. That’s what Glimmer would fight with every fiber in her body to avoid happening again. 

She took one last sweep around the room and grabbed her dagger that had been gifted to her by George, Bow’s other father, in case of emergencies. She then sped out the door and discretely made her way outside, trying not to attract the attention of the guards. She appeared to be successful as she got through the front gates seemingly unnoticed. She waited for a minute, then heard Bow come up to her and say in a quiet voice, “I’ve got everything.”

She looked him over, noticing that he had the leather armor on he always wore when he was going out into the woods. She also noticed what he had in his hands. Instead of his normal bow he used when she watched him practice his archery, he was holding his father’s longbow.

Noticing her staring a bit, he spoke up. “I know that this is George’s and it’s really important to him since it was his gift for being promoted to a General, but this is serious. I don’t want anything to happen to you to betray your trust in me. I’m going to protect you, and if I have to borrow his bow for a while, then that’s what I’m going to do. I’ll apologize later.”

Glimmer nodded. “Thanks, Bow. Your dad will be ok with it. And if he’s not, then I’m sure a word from a princess will change his mind.” Bow chuckled at that.

“You ready?”

“So ready.”

“All right, here’s the plan. There’s a blind spot in the guard’s lookout, a place small enough for us to slip through without getting anyone’s attention. We’re going to go through there, go into the Whispering Woods, find the relic, get out, and show my dad that I was right about everything. Sound good?”

Bow gave a thumbs up as Glimmer talked. “Then let’s go.”

The two friends made their way to the blind spot, a place where the castle had parts jutting out in places that left it difficult to see the area below it. Glimmer and Bow did their best to sneak as well as they could. Luckily, they made it to the edge of the Woods without anyone seeming to notice.

As they began to walk deeper into the Woods, Glimmer clapped her hands together in excitement. She was going to find this relic, whatever it was, prove to her dad how mature she could be, then use the relic to defeat the Horde, the scourge on everyone’s lives since her parents were children.

Maybe today wouldn’t be so bad after all.

\-------------------------

A few hours later, the Force Captain and her soldiers found themselves in a long caravan of troops going through a narrow mountain pass, fully geared up in armor. They had used this pass for scouting and small raids before, but this was new. Troops had never come into the pass on this scale. With their might, and if they were lucky, the element of surprise, they could strike a devastating blow to the Rebellion forces by destroying Thaymor.

Adora, Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelio were walking in the middle of the group. As much as they might have wished for them, carts and horses couldn't fit in the narrow pass. All the equipment had to be carried by the soldiers, and the entire pass had to be walked on foot. At the rate this was going, it felt like it would take days to reach Thaymor. After the first hour or so of joking conversation and snarky remarks, they had fallen into silence. Adora did her best to keep their spirits up and keep them focused, but even she had to admit this pass was exhausting.

It was frustrating to think about the impact this march could have on their troops. Surely Hordak, Shadow Weaver, and the other higher-ups did realize that there was only so much a person could do at a time, right? How could they expect them to march for hours on end, then launch a surprise attack on a heavily-defended Rebellion outpost? At this rate, the troops would be exhausted before they even got to their target.

The other thing that frustrated her is that she would catch herself glancing around, as if eager to find something, or someone. _Idiot_ . As if she could hide it from herself. There was only one person she would be looking for. Adora wasn’t even sure why she had bothered to look. If Catra had cared about their past friendship, she would have reached out to Adora by now. Instead, she had ignored her every attempt at contacting her for the past ten years. Nevertheless, Adora felt the urge to seek her out. She just wanted to know that her friend was alive and ok, at the very least.

Unfortunately, she didn’t find her. Unfortunate, but expected. After all, they weren’t called the Guild of Shadow for nothing. It’s not like a member of the guild would be easy to spot in a crowd. They were masters of subtlety, stealth, and assassination, all things that made Adora want to hurl her staff. She wasn’t cut out for things like that, no matter what Shadow Weaver said. She had been trained since she was 9 years old how to fight on an open battlefield, how to face your opponent and come out on top because you were _better_ , not because you used sneaky, underhanded tactics. Whatever potential Shadow Weaver saw in her to do things like that, she would never know.

Her head shot up as she heard her three companions all gasp aloud in wonder. As they had walked, the mountain wall that had blocked them from seeing the lands of Bright Moon and vice versa had lowered until it was gone. As this had happened, Adora saw several dark-robed figures rise out of nowhere to begin casting some sort of spells that seemed to help mask their approach. She couldn’t tell if any of them was her friend, but whatever they did, it seemed to help. As she listened, the various sounds of the caravan faded into silence. Someone would be hard-pressed to notice them as they trudged through the high mountain pass.

The sight that greeted them now that they could see Bright Moon was truly something to behold. They saw a bright blue sky, bluer than anything Adora had ever seen. The town where she grew up always seemed to have a grey, gloomy sky, and the Fright Zone wasn’t much better. This was… beautiful.

“It kinda looks like the color of your eyes, Adora,” Kyle remarked.

“Adora’s eyes are way grayer than that, Kyle,” Lonnie rebuffed.

Adora wasn’t paying much attention to their conversation as she continued to take in their other surroundings. She looked down and saw a thick mass of trees that began directly beneath them and spread out almost as far as the eye could see. In the distance, she could just make out a shiny castle, in a color scheme that Adora personally looked just ridiculous and awful. She saw in a different direction some signs of civilization. Thaymor. If they took that out, the odds would tip substantially in their favor. Adora craned forward just a bit more to see if she could get a better look.

That was all it took.

She suddenly felt the ground give way underneath her as she fell forward. There was no time to stop herself or grab hold of anything. She dropped like a stone. The next thing she knew she was in the air, falling. Fast. “Adora!” she heard someone yell, but she was too panicked to figure out who. It sounded like someone she knew, but she had bigger problems right now- She was hurtling towards her death. She pulled out her staff, activated the point hidden on the end, and tried to force it into the rock. With a burst of strength, she managed to impale the sharp end into the cliffside.

It slowed her fall, but just by a small amount. She still hit the canopy like a bag of bricks. The force was enough to knock the wind out of her, and she proceeded to slam into several more branches before finally coming to a halt by crashing into a large bush. Adora just laid there as she processed what had just transpired. She had fallen. Was she pushed? No, she felt the ground give way underneath her. No foul play, Adora thought, relieved. It would have hurt in more ways than one to know that there was someone who wanted her dead.

Adora sat up and immediately regretted it. Her vision swam, and several parts of her body screamed in protest. Was something broken? Would she be able to walk? Adora took a few moments to clear her head, then attempted to stand up. With the help of her staff, blade end ruined by the fall, Adora weakly managed to get on her feet. Nothing was broken, but the good news stopped there.

That's when the full magnitude of the situation hit her. She was alone. Alive, but seriously wounded. She couldn’t look at herself in her entirety, but she was certain she was a mess. It felt like her entire body was covered in scratches and bruises that she knew would feel awful the next morning. In addition, she could barely stand and had almost no feeling in her arms after her stunt with the cliff edge. She needed medical attention, and soon. She was also in one of the most hostile places known to the Horde, the Whispering Woods. No one had ever gone in and lived to tell the tale. Adora would have to make her way through the woods and somehow manage to catch up with the Horde force. She felt a deep, encroaching feeling of bottomless dread seep through her very being.

Nevertheless, she had to do this. This is what all that survival training in the Horde had been for, and she would rather eat her armor than curl up in a ball and surrender to the wilderness. Either she made it, or she died. Despite her determination, Adora couldn’t help but let out a small whimper as she started into the dark woods, every tree oozing malevolence.

Maybe today wasn’t going to be so good after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Hope you thought it was neat. I'd like to update regularly, but I'm not sure how often that would be. This chapter and the new few make up the first arc of the story where Adora meets Bow and Glimmer and makes a fateful decision regarding what she finds in the Whispering Woods. A word of warning, though, this might end up being LONG. This is not a story I plan to have a quick resolution. I guess we'll see how far it goes.
> 
> SPELL LIST  
> "It should have been you, Adora felt her voice piercing in her mind, hissing in anger..." Shadow Weaver used Message  
> "Shadow Weaver gripped the frightened child she was clutching... then vanished into the shadows" Shadow Weaver used Teleport  
> "She finally floated out past Adora, her feet never seeming to touch the ground." Shadow Weaver used Levitate (because she always has to be extra)


	2. This Day Keeps Getting Better/Worse (The Beginning Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora gets some help, some advice, and an offer. Glimmer and Bow find a First Ones' ruin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, if you're still here, then I guess I did something right. Thanks for sticking around. Here's the Best Friend Squad having a not-so-fun time in the Whispering Woods, with a bit of backstory for Glimmer and Bow.

Adora had lost track of how long she had been walking for. An hour? Two? Three? It felt like an eternity as she stumbled through the Whispering Woods, trying to make it back to her squad before there was no hope of escape. She refused to let herself die in these woods. All the same, her injuries all ached with each step. 

As she walked, it occurred to Adora how much of a miracle it was that she had lasted this long. The walk was nonetheless taking a toll on her, she knew. It was harder and harder to will her body to keep moving, and her head was getting dangerously fuzzy. If she passed out here, there was no telling what her fate could be. Something painful and horrible, she assumed.

One thing Adora did manage to pick up on as she staggered through the woods in a haze was how _alive_ it felt. Unlike the Fright Zone, where the most distinct noises were the sounds of commanding officers barking orders to their troops and the occasional rumble of whatever new kind of machinery the artificers were working on, the woods seemed to be teeming with life. Here, there was a constant chattering of animals, hooting of birds, and chirping of crickets. It was almost peaceful if not for the current predicament. 

However, there was also the unnerving sensation of being watched. She felt like there were countless pairs of eyes boring holes into her at all times, though she couldn’t put her finger on where someone might be watching her from. It took all of her self control not to spin wildly in all directions every few minutes, desperate to find the source of the feeling.

The last bit of strength Adora had left her at last when her foot snagged on a root, sending her tumbling towards the ground. She tried to get up, but with a sinking feeling felt that she couldn’t. She was at her limit. She couldn’t walk any further. A wave of exhaustion that she had been trying to fight off finally hit her, making all her limbs feel like lead. 

She was so _tired._ She had failed. Try as she might, she was going to die here. Alone. In hostile territory, surrounded by twisted, gnarled trees, shrieking animals, and the figure shrouded in shadows standing ten feet in front of her. _Wait, what? There’s someone near me,_ Adora realized, her last coherent thought before the darkness took her.

\-------------------------

“Are we there yet?” Glimmer asked, for what had to be the thousandth time. They had been walking around aimlessly for hours. Hours! And there was still no sign of any relic! Glimmer felt the frustration beginning to get to her. She had been _so_ confident they could just walk into the Whispering Woods, look around for a bit, then waltz right out with whatever relic they had found. She didn’t realize that wandering through an enchanted forest would be so _difficult._

“I’ll tell you when I know any more than you do, Glimmer,” Bow said, the impatience clear in his voice. “I’m not the tracker my dads are, and we _are_ in an enchanted forest. I never said this would be quick or easy.” She then heard him mutter to himself, “I practically grew up in these woods, and even I’ve never seen this part.” 

She was sorry to be getting on his nerves, but she was tired and a bit irritated. Bow was doing his tracking thing, but Glimmer had nothing to do but watch as he did his best to figure out where they were and where they needed to be going, then sluggishly follow after him as he started walking toward whatever new point that he’d look around for clues and start the whole cycle over again.

Still, she had to believe that whatever relic Bow’s dad had sensed was there somewhere. Lance was a powerful wizard and the King’s magical advisor. If he said that something big was here, then Glimmer trusted him. She also trusted his son to get them there. Eventually. As they walked, Glimmer was reminded about how she had met her best friend. 

When she was little, her mother and father had found themselves in need of a new General and Royal Magic Advisor since the two who had held the positions before had been killed in action. Glimmer hadn’t known that as a child, but she had figured it out as the war forced her to grow up faster than she would have liked. She remembered her father bringing her down to meet the two men who had gotten the positions, a married couple with 13 children. Young Glimmer had been a little taken aback at first. She hadn’t spent much time around the previous General and Royal Magical Advisor, but these two newcomers gave off such an aura of friendliness that it was impossible for her to not immediately like them. 

The day after they had met and moved into the castle, Glimmer had awoken that morning to an unfamiliar sound, the sound she would soon come to know and enjoy as Bow practicing his archery. She had made her way down to the open yard of the castle to find a young half elf boy practicing shooting with his little bow at a target ahead of him. He was so focused on his practice that he didn’t notice her at first. At least, not until she used a spell to make a floating hand to catch one of his arrows as it flew toward the target. It was a spell her father had taught her a few weeks prior.

He spun around until he caught sight of her, gawking. She smiled shyly and used the hand to return his arrow. He took it, not looking away from her.

“I’m Glimmer.”

“Bow.”

“What?”

“It’s my name.”

“Well, I like it. Do you want to be friends?” Glimmer asked hesitantly. Bow’s face brightened. “Yeah!” And so the two had become best friends.

Glimmer smiled a bit, the happy memory helping to clear away her frustration. Yeah, it wasn’t exactly fun to be walking around for hours in an enchanted forest looking for some mysterious artifact. But she trusted that it was here, somewhere, and she trusted that her friend could get them there. She sped up to walk closer to Bow as they traveled deeper into the woods.

\-------------------------

Adora came to consciousness gradually. Her mind was a jumbled mess of confusion. What had happened to her? She was walking through the woods, then the next thing she knew she was on the ground. Wait! She hadn’t been alone. There had been someone nearby, watching her. What happened after that? She couldn’t remember. As her mind began to clear, Adora noticed something else. She could feel her arms again. Her legs didn’t hurt. Her lungs didn’t feel like they were trying to breathe in shards of glass with every breath. She was… healed. Her wounds weren’t completely gone, but it felt like her body had been patching itself up for weeks. How?

Adora opened her eyes carefully, trying not to let her… savior? Captor? Whoever the figure was, she didn’t want them knowing she was awake just yet. As her vision cleared, she realized she was lying on the floor in some kind of hut, her staff beside her. The place seemed to be made of a combination of stone and tree roots, with rocks making up some of the walls and parts of the ceiling, and the tree roots completing the structure. What sparse decorations and objects the hut had looked like they had been placed haphazardly. It also looked like whoever lived there hadn’t bothered to clean the place in years.

A voice close to her ear let her know that her attempt at stealth had not been successful. “Mara, dearie, you’re finally awake!” an old but cheerful voice said. Adora sat straight up and looked at the odd sight of the person standing in front of her. 

Before her was an _ancient_ looking woman with a mess of grey hair, wearing a raggedy pink dress, a mossy green scarf, and yellow-tinted spectacles that made her eyes look enormous. Several silvery white bands covered her wrists, and rings adorned most of her fingers as she clutched a wooden broom in her hands. And were those _moths_ fluttering around her? She looked… almost like someone’s crazy grandmother. She would have seemed sweet if she wasn’t a suspicious lady in the woods who had saved-slash-possibly-kidnapped Adora.

“Um, hi,” Adora managed to stammer. “Do you know me? I don’t think you have the right person, lady. My name’s-” 

She didn’t get to finish as the lady cut her off. “You have to be more careful, Mara, dearie. Who knows what could have happened if Madame Razz didn’t find you and heal you with her magic!” _So that’s what happened to me. This lady is a princess! Wait, maybe I shouldn’t call her that to her face._

“And thanks for that, I guess. Healing me I mean. Why would you do that?” Adora said awkwardly. Madame Razz looked at her, confused. 

“I mean, I thought... magic wielders... were mostly reckless and only concerned about themselves. They didn’t care about hurting people if it got them what they wanted. But- you saved me. Right? This- this isn’t a kidnapping, is it?”

 _Come on, Adora_ , she facepalmed in her head. _Really?_

Madame Razz just laughed. “What silly questions, Mara! Does Madame Razz need to fix your head? This is why you shouldn’t go around without that sword of yours.” 

“What sword? Look, lady- Madame Razz, sorry- I don’t know who you are, and I certainly don’t know anything about a sword. My name’s Adora, not Mara, and I need to get out of here as soon as possible to get back to my squad!” Adora cried, beginning to get frustrated with this crazy old lady. She looked harmless enough, but she had clearly been spending too much time out here alone. 

Madame Razz looked her over in silence, her eyes narrowing slightly. “No, you don’t know Madame Razz, do you? You’re not quite the same. This is the wrong time for my Mara, isn’t it? Now it’s time for you to wield the sword instead.” 

Adora was just as confused as before. “Ok, I feel like that was a bit of progress, but I still don’t have a sword.” 

“Well, if you don’t have it, then you should go and get it! It’s your destiny, after all.” Madame Razz replied, cheerful as ever. 

“My dest- What? My destiny is with my family, my home, not some sword! Now could you please just point me out of here so I can get back to them?” Adora argued. This lady wasn’t listening to her! 

Madame Razz let out a small harrumph, then gestured for Adora to follow her. She led her outside of her hut, then pointed a finger in one direction. “That’s the way you have to go. Just keep going straight until you find what you need.” 

Adora was suspicious, but she figured she had a better shot at getting back to the Horde by following this lady’s advice than by wandering around by herself. Besides, she _had_ healed Adora. That part still confused her. She didn’t have much experience with magic-wielders, but the one she knew didn’t even have healing magic, let alone the kindness to use it on some random stranger they happened upon.

She began walking in the direction Madame Razz had pointed her in when she spoke. “Adora… when you need to talk, come find me. I’ll be here.” Adora turned, surprised. That was the first time she had said her name correctly. Not that the rest of it mattered. Cryptic message aside, there was no way she’d ever be coming back here. She would be leaving this place behind and never looking back. Whatever this lady thought, she didn’t have some epic destiny that apparently involved a sword. She was a Horde soldier, and that was that, and she was just fine with that. 

She walked back into the forest, reinvigorated and even more motivated to get out of these woods as soon as possible. She was just in time, though, to hear Madame Razz mutter “Who was that girl?” as she turned and reentered her home.

As she walked through the woods, Adora had plenty of time to think to herself. She had been told all her life about the evil princesses and the other magic-wielders who followed them. They were disorderly, reckless, and selfish, getting themselves and others hurt or killed in their uncontrolled practicing of magic. They weren’t concerned with keeping peace and order, they just wrecked the perfect world that had been given to them. That’s what Adora believed for so long, because what reason would she have to not? 

But then Madame Razz, denizen of the Whispering Woods and by extension Bright Moon, had saved her life. For no reason other than to help a stranger. Well, she had thought Adora was someone else, but still. That was a selfless act no matter how somebody spun it. Razz didn’t have to help her, but she had used magic to heal her wounds. Adora wasn’t even sure she realized people could _do_ that. Everything the Horde had taught her implied that princesses just used spells that caused untold destruction and death. 

Shadow Weaver, the only other magic-wielder she knew, didn’t exactly disprove that message with her magic, either. Adora had seen her send a giant hound made out of _shadows_ at a soldier who had insulted her once. It had not been pretty. 

A small voice in Adora’s head nagged at her. _They lied to you, Adora. They were wrong._

“They didn’t lie to me,” Adora protested out loud. “Yeah, one lady saved me, but that’s just one person! Maybe everyone else is like they said.” 

_Yeah, but they didn’t tell you the whole truth either,_ the voice in her head replied. _And if they didn’t tell you the whole truth about this, or even your “light of the celestials,” what else have they been not telling you the whole truth about?_

Adora tried to ignore the voice in her head and kept on walking. She hoped this Razz person had actually pointed her in the right direction instead of whatever sword she was talking about, or worse, straight to her death. She was interrupted from this internal conflict as the ground without warning gave way underneath her, all too familiar to her other fall a few hours prior. It appeared that the patch of vines she had stepped on had been covering some kind of tunnel. A tunnel that Adora found herself tumbling down into. 

The world was a blur for a few moments as she rolled down the dark tunnel, but at last she came to a stop. Her injuries, still not completely healed, sent aches through her body as she laid there, coughing. She picked herself up and looked around. While the place was pitch-black, Adora only had some trouble picking up on her surroundings. 

As far as she could remember, her eyesight had been better than the average person. Dim places were to her the same as places lit by bright light, and dark places just seemed dimly lit. She was able to see to some degree in here, albeit only in shades of grey. The first thing she noticed was that the tunnel she had come rolling down from looked too steep for her to even begin to consider trying to climb back up through, so the only way out was forward. In front of her there was a long, dark tunnel that looked like it could be endless. 

The next thing she noticed was the nature of the tunnel. Instead of dirt or rock, the tunnel seemed to be made of metal. Not only that, but there were carvings in the metal, strange shapes that Adora had never seen before. Yet Adora felt like she had known them all her life. There was something eerily _familiar_ about this place, about these designs. It felt almost as if the place was made for her.

She walked down the long tunnel, her footsteps echoing all around her. What was this place? Who had built it? Why did she feel a sense of… _belonging_ here? These questions put Adora on edge as she made her way through the tunnel. The darkness didn’t help either. She didn’t have too much of a problem seeing, but she had always felt more comfortable in open spaces with plenty of light than in cramped passageways with not even a torch to light the way. 

This situation was making her _extremely_ jumpy. She flinched at the slightest sound, whirling around with her staff at the ready to attack the monster that never came. After some time, she came to the end of the tunnel and was met by a hatch. She tugged at the rusty handle on it. It didn’t budge. She set her staff against the wall and _pulled_ with both hands, ripping the handle off with this sudden display of strength. However, the hatch creaked open. Adora picked up her staff, pulled the hatch open, and there she was met by an unexpected sight.

The tunnel opened up into a massive room, full of tree roots and phosphorescent moss. It looked like no one had been here in centuries. She saw other passageways that led to who knows where, and all across the room were more of the symbols that Adora had seen in the tunnel. However, these symbols were different. While the symbols in the tunnel caused Adora to think of vague concepts, like the symbols stood for something, these symbols felt like they were _words._

On the wall furthest to Adora, there was a large mural made of what looked like stained glass that showed an armored woman with a massive sword. She saw the words below the glass and instantly was able to interpret their meaning: _She-Ra._ What was that? Was that a person? Maybe the woman on the wall? Adora was confused. Was this the lady Madame Razz was talking about- Mara? If so, then what did She-Ra mean? She was so enraptured about the wall that it took her a minute to notice the sword.

In the center of the room, wrapped in thick tree roots, was an elegant longsword. Adora involuntarily gasped out loud, unable to help herself. It was _beautiful,_ easily the finest weapon she had ever seen. The entire sword gleamed as if it were just forged, untouched by the ravages of time. In the center of the hilt was a turquoise gem that seemed to glow with a faint light even in the darkness. The guard extended gracefully out from the center of the hilt, resembling golden wings. The blade of the sword, with consistent thickness throughout the entire length until it angled into a point, was a faint bluish color that vaguely reminded Adora of the color of her own eyes. It was _enchanting_. And it felt like it was calling to her.

The whole world seemed to fall away to Adora. At that moment, the only thing that mattered was that sword. Adora approached it with reverence, pausing after each step, as if she were afraid it would vanish if she made the wrong move. She was close enough now to see her own reflection in the parts of the blade that weren’t covered by roots. She looked like herself, except a little bit more frazzled and scared than usual, with one exception. There was a fiery light in Adora’s eyes, a light that threatened to blind her if she looked at it for too long. 

She forced her eyes away from the blade to look at the hilt again. It felt like it was egging her on, daring her to grab it. _Come on, Adora,_ a voice whispered from inside her skull. _Take it. Claim it as your own. It is yours by right._ She reached out a hand, hesitantly, and her fingers grazed the tip of the hilt.

Things happened very quickly after that. Almost as if possessed, Adora’s hands both surged onto the hilt, gripping it as if they would never let go again. Her body felt locked in place, frozen. _Finally,_ the voice said again in Adora’s ear. She then felt a mighty shove, but not like someone had suddenly pushed her. No, it felt like someone had grabbed her very soul and _tore_ it from her body. All of a sudden, Adora could feel herself flying into a pool of darkness that not even she could see in. She was hurtling into an abyss, surrounded by thousands of voices. They all whispered in a disjointed, chaotic way, a sound that ate into Adora’s psyche, threatening to rip her apart. 

Then, as quickly as it had begun, Adora felt herself grind to a halt. The noises stopped. The darkness faded. She wasn’t in the abandoned temple anymore. She was standing at the gates of a mighty castle built out of obsidian. Sharp, dark towers rose up all around the castle, so tall that they could pierce the sky. The obsidian around the gate itself had been carved to resemble a large, snarling skull. Around the castle was an image of desolation. Surrounding it was a dark, twisted forest that looked almost _hungry_ to Adora. Beyond that, she saw a shattered, dark landscape that was as empty and hollow as it was unnerving. 

As she looked around, the dark black gates in front of her swung open with a mighty groan, leaving her staring into another abyss. She then felt a voice, simultaneously a whisper and a roar that shook the ground. There was no discernible direction to the voice; it seemed to come from all around her. Adora looked into the gates with a sinking feeling in her stomach as the voice said, “Greetings, child of celestials. I believe it’s time we finally met.”

\-------------------------

“Glimmer, look! We found it!” Glimmer’s eyes shot back open at the sound of Bow’s voice. She could see the sun starting to set in the sky, and she was pretty tired. She had been considering that they should call it a night when she heard Bow’s cry. He was pushing through a particularly thick bunch of bushes, and Glimmer was right there beside him, helping them both through. 

They stumbled into a small clearing when Glimmer saw what Bow had been talking about. In front of them was a massive building that looked like no one had been there for a very long time. The metal structure was covered in roots and vines, almost unrecognizable in its disrepair and nature’s attempt at reclaiming it. However, there was also a gaping entrance into a tunnel that seemed to lead downwards. Glimmer went to go in, but Bow’s hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. 

“Are you crazy?” he said, eyes wide. “You were about to go waltzing in there?” 

Glimmer scoffed. “I was not about to go _waltzing in there,_ Bow. We came all this way, and now what we’ve been looking for is right there! This is what we’re here for. If we get into trouble, then I have my magic and you have your bow. We’ll be fine, Bow. Would you please trust me on this?” Glimmer’s fatigue had vanished, replaced by eagerness and anticipation. This was it! Her chance to make everything right again! She was not about to take no for an answer. 

Seeing this, Bow reluctantly conceded. “All right, Glimmer. Let’s go.” 

Glimmer let out the breath she didn’t realize she had been holding. He still seemed as reluctant as before, but Glimmer was relieved that he had at least agreed to go with her. She wasn’t sure what she would have done if he had refused. Bow unslung his already strung longbow from his back, nocked an arrow, and began to move forward carefully into the passage, gesturing for Glimmer to follow him. Glimmer, in turn, created four small pink orbs that floated near their heads to give them at least some light as they stepped into the pitch-black opening.

As they walked through the tunnel, Glimmer found herself muttering words of encouragement to both herself and Bow. She had a habit of doing that in stressful situations, when danger could rear its head at any corner. Surprisingly, though, it always _worked._ Since she was a little girl, Glimmer had had a way with words that always seemed to bolster people’s resolve in a not-so-non magical way. Her father had always told her it came from her mother’s side. It didn’t help her be any more persuasive, but this skill of hers definitely had some bonuses. Within around ten minutes of creeping through the passages, careful to avoid any traps, she could see Bow visibly relaxing and becoming more assured. He gave her a nod of appreciation as they walked down what would be the last flight of stairs before a room appeared ahead of them.

The room they walked into looked ancient, like it had remained untouched by people for countless years. Tree roots were coming out of various cracks in the walls and ceiling, and there were several patches of phosphorescent moss spread throughout the room. There were a few more tunnels besides the one they came through, some of which had collapsed. She took all this in in a short time as her eyes were immediately drawn to one wall where a massive stained glass mural of a woman in flowing white armor holding a sword stood. Glimmer’s eyes wandered to the bottom where something was written, and her eyes widened as she recognized the language. 

It was written in Celestial, the language her mother had taught her when she was a small child. She had never met anyone else besides her father who could read it, much less build a whole temple with the language carved into the entire place. Who _were_ the First Ones, exactly? There were plenty of theories, but no one knew for sure.

“Glimmer?”

What happened to them? Why did they vanish without a trace? Why was the entire place covered in carvings in Celestial?

“ _Glimmer?”_

In fact, now that she was thinking about it, how did her _mother_ know Celestial? It was more or less a dead language, with no one having spoken it since the Great Silence. As far as she knew, her mother was a normal woman, aside from her title. So why-

“GLIMMER!”

Glimmer snapped out of her thoughts to look at Bow, who was frantically pointing to something in the center of the room. Glimmer followed where he was pointing to, and she froze. Standing there was a girl about their age wearing simple chain mail armor with her blonde hair pulled up into a ponytail. She was standing completely still, clutching a giant sword that was tangled in a mess of tree roots. Her eyes were glowing with an eerie blue light, and she made no acknowledgment that they were there. Glimmer’s eyes wandered more until she saw something that almost made her want to go running in and strangle this girl before she saw Bow’s look that clearly said _Don’t_. 

Emblazoned on the wide patch of cloth that ran down the girl’s armor was the symbol of the Horde.

\-------------------------

Before she could even stop herself, Adora felt her body move towards the cavernous maw of the castle entrance. It was almost as if she was being _dragged_ by an unseen force into the structure. Traveling through the entrance itself seemed to take an instant and an eternity at the same time. When she was fully inside the castle, she found herself in a massive throne room that. Adora noticed that the room was made of polished obsidian just like the rest of the castle. 

Unlike the outside of the building, however, the obsidian in the room was not smooth. Instead, all of the walls were carved to resemble thousands of skulls screaming from every direction. Torches were placed evenly throughout the room, bathing the place in brilliant yellow light, making her squint a little. The sheer immensity of the room was making every noise echo, which Adora became painfully aware of as her every step sent a resounding _clank_ echoing through the room as her metal boots collided with the floor. Elevated in the end of the room was a massive obsidian throne that stood empty, leaving Adora with an odd feeling she couldn’t identify. 

Before she could do anything else, the voice rumbled to life once more, coming from every direction at once. “It has been some time, child, since one of your kind came to my attention. I have been waiting for so long I had almost given up hope.” Once again, the combined whisper and roar of the voice left Adora feeling like her body was locked in place. “It appears that you are one of the few members of a dwindling people,” it continued. Adora was completely still, unable to move or speak. 

There was silence for a moment, as if the voice expected Adora to speak. When the source of the voice realized that Adora wasn’t going to say anything, it let out a long sigh. “It was not my intent to frighten you, child. Allow me to apologize and try a different approach.”

From the ceiling, a small piece of obsidian chipped off and fell onto the throne. Then another piece fell, and another, until countless shards of obsidian were whirling around the throne, forming into the shape of a figure. Within a few moments, a fully-armored man was sitting on the throne, staring down at her. He got up and made his way down to her where he stood a few feet away. “Perhaps this is a more palatable appearance for a soldier like yourself?” It surprisingly did make Adora feel a little better. 

“Apologies again for the circumstances that brought you here and the, well, _all this,”_ he said, gesturing to the castle. The simultaneously confusing and terrifying voice had dissipated, leaving just a deep, baritone voice that was almost pleasant. “I’m afraid I didn’t exactly have a say in the decorations when I ended up here, nor did I have an opportunity to do much about it. I haven’t had visitors for so long, I had forgotten that people could be less than enthusiastic about the look.”

Adora, thankfully, managed to find her voice again. “Uh, hi? I have some questions? For you, I mean?” 

The being looked at her. “Yes, I suppose you would.” he said. 

Adora took a deep breath, then blurted out with a frantic energy- “What’s going on? Who are you? Where am I? Am I dead? What was up with that sword? What is She-Ra? What does everyone mean with the ‘child of celestials’ thing? How did you go from a disembodied voice to an obsidian man? In fact, why is the whole place made of obsidian? Who makes a castle made of obsidian in the middle of a nightmare realm? I just-” Adora managed to pause for a breath, pressing her hands tightly to her face, then finished. 

“-I need answers. Please.” He nodded to her. 

“And answers you shall get. First-” he extended his hand to her. “-you may call me Grayskull. I assume you have a name other than ‘child,’ unless you would prefer I call you that for some reason that is beyond me.” 

Adora took his hand after a moment of hesitation and shook it. It felt like the real deal, surprisingly enough. “My name’s Adora,” she said. 

“Adora,” Grayskull rumbled, stretching it out as if testing the name out to see what he thought of it. “A fine name. As for your other questions, that will take longer to explain, and I might not be able to answer them all at once. To relieve your fears, you are not dead. In fact, you’re not really even here. I just borrowed your consciousness to speak with you for a moment when you touched my sword.” 

“ _Your_ sword?” 

“Well, I was the one who forged it. Although, I suppose it’s yours now and not mine.” 

“What do you mean, it’s my sword?” Adora asked incredulously. 

“What I mean is, it could be yours. You are compatible to wield it, if you so chose. You and I would have to enter a pact together for you to do so. I grant you strength, and you do my bidding whenever I call on you.” 

“And why would I want that?”

“Because I see into you," Grayskull said with a knowing tone, like he knew everything about Adora. "I see what’s in your heart. You have a strong soul, and a desire to do good in the world. That is admirable. But it is difficult. Dangerous. You will face opposition and receive aid from the places you least expect. And then you will need strength. Power. Power that I can give to you, if you accept it.” 

Adora was as reluctant as she was suspicious. “And what would you have me do if I accepted?” 

Grayskull leaned in a bit closer. “I would have you remake the world. I would have you fix what has been left broken. I would have you make your home a place of light and joy that all would bask in. It seems like an insurmountable task, I’m well aware, but I believe you have the strength to see it through. Your kind was a stubborn bunch. Stubborn and strong. What say you, Adora? Will you fight for the honor of Grayskull?”

There was a slight pause as Adora tried to figure out what to say. “That sounds really great, but can I… think about it? This seems like it's a pretty big decision,” Adora said nervously. She couldn’t say that nothing about that had appealed to her, but under no circumstances would she be resorting to something like this to obtain power. Not just yet, at least. It was a bit too vague for her liking, and she couldn’t figure out whether his intentions were true or not. This armored man was unreadable to her. She wasn’t too sure about his comments on her enemies and allies, either. 

“Very well,” Grayskull said, seeming satisfied for the moment that she was at least considering. “I can’t expect you to decide right away. But just remember you can accept the pact at any time, as long as you have the sword.” 

“Are you able to send me back?” 

Grayskull chuckled, a warm sound compared to the frigid, uninviting surroundings. “Of course Adora, I wouldn’t just strand you here with me.”

“Can I ask one more question?” 

“Yes?” Grayskull replied, head cocked slightly. 

“What _am_ I? I know I’ve been… _different_ … all my life. People keep talking about me like I’m someone special, and I’m sick and tired of people looking at me like I’m some _exotic oddity_ without telling me why.” Adora questioned, a slight edge creeping into her voice. Here was someone who might be able to give her a straight answer for once, she hoped. 

Grayskull answered immediately, as if he had been preparing a speech for this moment. “What you are, Adora, is someone very special and unique, a member of a very rare group. What you are, Adora, is an aasimar, a child of the celestials given mortal form. I see in you a beacon of light that has been snuffed out, and I will help you rekindle your light into a blazing fire of righteousness. I’ll be here when you answer my call.” 

Grayskull’s head snapped up as if he had caught sight of something in the distance. “Hmmm. Further questions will have to wait. I need to send you back now, since your physical form is in, how do I put this, a bit of _hot water_ at the moment.”

Adora barely had time to process his words before she felt the unsettling yank that sent her back into the abyss of whispering voices, before she was jarred back into her own body. As her eyes slowly blinked back into focus, she saw what Grayskull had meant by hot water. 

She was no longer standing in the center of the room. Instead, she was sitting against a wall, hands and legs bound behind her back by thick ropes. A few experimental tugs told her they wouldn’t come off easy. Her staff was propped up against the wall nearby, and the sword- her sword?- was in the arms of a dark-skinned half elf boy with a bow and quiver slung around his back and wearing leather armor. She noticed that for some reason it had a small hole in it that exposed his stomach. 

“Hey, she’s awake,” he said in a scratchy voice after noticing her eyes open. Directly in front of her face was a short girl with bright pink hair, blue fingerless gloves and one white sleeve, a fancy purple shirt and shorts, and a sparkly blue cape that reached down to the girl's feet. “Alright, _Horde spy,”_ the girl hissed at her. “We have some _questions_ for you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooh, the plot thickens. Adora's first interactions with Razz and her patron, and the Best Friend Squad has finally met! How much more eventful can their day get...
> 
> SPELL LIST  
> "At least, not until she used a spell to make a floating hand to catch one of his arrows..." young Glimmer used Mage Hand  
> "'Who knows what could have happened if Madame Razz didn’t find you and heal you with her magic!'" Madame Razz used Cure Wounds  
> "Glimmer, in turn, created four small pink orbs that floated near their heads to give them at least some light" Glimmer used Dancing Lights


	3. Thaymor (The Beginning Part 3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora meets Bow and Glimmer. Grayskull gives Adora some help. The group travels to Thaymor. Adora makes a choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heck yeah, first fight scene! I've never written a fight scene before, so input is welcome. And BOY did I use a lot of stuff from The Sword Parts 1 and 2. Hope you'll forgive me for that.

Adora was not having the greatest day. After taking a nasty fall, she had wandered through hostile territory, been given terrible directions by a crazy magic wielder, and found herself in an ancient ruin where she was contacted by a mysterious _something_ who wanted her to make a pact with him. Now, after being tied up by two Rebellion soldiers, she looked at the face of the girl who would be her interrogator. Naturally, the first thing that came out of her mouth was a slightly slurred, “What’s going on?” 

“ _Quiet,_ Horde spy, I’m asking the questions here. How did you make it this far into the Whispering Woods?” the pink girl spat. 

“I just walked. Well, actually I fell first, but that’s not important.” Adora replied. It wasn’t exactly like it was supposed to be a big secret. For such a supposedly dangerous place, it had been pretty easy to get through for her. 

At the mention of falling, the boy in the bizarre crop top armor looked a bit sympathetic, which was odd. The girl turned and made a face at the boy. “Bow! No feeling sympathy for the spy!” 

“I’m not a spy,” Adora protested. What kind of spy walked around in full chain mail armor? 

“ _Right,”_ the girl drawled. “So you _just happened_ to be walking through the Whispering Woods, _just happened_ to make your way into this ruin, and _just happened_ to steal our sword?” 

“It’s not yours, it’s mi- I mean, I, uh, found it first,” Adora finished dumbly. Did she want the sword? She wasn’t sure yet. Could she even trust this Grayskull person? Also not sure. 

“The Whispering Woods, and everything in it, is under the Rebellion’s protection. You were lucky to make it as far as you did,” the girl continued. 

“Well, it wasn’t really that hard,” Adora muttered to herself. 

The girl’s eyes narrowed. “Come on, Bow. Let’s get this _spy_ back to Bright Moon where she can be interrogated properly.” She walked a short distance away with the boy, whose name was apparently _Bow,_ and leaned in, whispering. She could make out bits and pieces, like _relic, horde spy, dad, impressed._

The girl turned back to her and said, “Now on your feet, Horde spy.” 

Adora looked down at the ropes that completely restricted her movement, including her legs, then looked back up to the girl. “Seriously? What, are you gonna have me crawl like a worm all the way?” 

The girl groaned and turned to Bow. “Can you undo the part around her legs?” 

“Not a problem,” Bow replied. He handed over the sword to the girl, then went over and untied Adora’s legs. “You can get up now,” he said when he was finished. Adora struggled to her feet. 

“Alright, let’s go,” the girl said, walking towards one of the ruin’s passageways. Bow brought up the rear as they followed the girl out of the ruin. 

Outside, they were met by the setting sun. Adora stopped for a moment, causing Bow to bump into her. The sunset was _mesmerizing._ Adora had never seen anything like it in her life. The way the sky was painted a million different colors as the sun made its way past the horizon was dazzling. 

“You ok?” Bow asked her. Adora was put off by how _concerned_ he sounded, almost as if she was a close friend. She just grunted and kept moving. However, that was easier said than done. The Whispering Woods was _full_ of branches and tree roots and other things that kept tripping Adora. It would be easier if she could use her hands, but she was a bit tied up at the moment. Literally. Every time she stumbled, she could hear a concerned groan from Bow, and an annoyed one from the angry girl. Eventually, her foot hit a root and she couldn’t regain her balance in time, sending her face first into the ground. 

She felt Bow help her to her feet, then say to the girl, “Ok Glimmer, can we _please_ untie her? She’s gonna get hurt if this keeps up.” Her name was _Glimmer?_ What kind of crazy naming conventions were these princesses into?

Glimmer looked frustrated, then sighed. “ _Fine_. She’s slowing us down like that anyway. We just need to get back to Bright Moon as soon as possible. Just get your bow out and keep an eye on her.” 

As Bow untied her restraints, Glimmer said to Adora. “Don’t try to escape. Or on second thought, maybe do try to escape. I wouldn’t pass up on some free target practice.” She smiled wickedly, hands lighting up with radiant energy. Adora’s expression hardened, and she begrudgingly nodded. Glimmer walked ahead of them, seeming satisfied. 

Bow whispered to Adora as she attempted to restore the feeling in her hands, “Sorry about her. Usually she’s really nice, but she’s had a long day. A rough one too. Though I guess the same could be said for you.” Adora was silent, her gaze fixed into the distance. 

“Not much for talking, huh?”

“I prefer not to swap pleasantries with my captors,” Adora responded curtly. 

“That’s fair. Suit yourself, then.”

After a moment, she asked, “Why do you act like you care about me getting hurt?” Bow looked at her, a little confused. 

“Because it seems pointless, you know? Unless you’ve done something bad, there’s no point in you getting hurt for no reason. Although you’re Horde, so maybe you have,” his face darkened for a split second as he finished. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” 

Bow looked at her, his face screaming _seriously?_

“You do realize you’re working with a princess, right?" Adora pushed. "How can you follow her? Princesses are reckless and dangerous. They’re a threat to everyone!”

She swore she could see pity in Bow’s eyes as he said, “Is that what Hordak told you?” Adora hated the expression on the boy’s face. He didn’t have the right to look at her like _she_ was the one in the wrong.

“I thought that was common knowledge,” Adora retorted. “They’re violent instigators who barely have a handle on their own powers. They run rampant in their countries, leaving them chaotic and out of order.” 

“Have you ever _met_ a princess?”

Adora sputtered, “Well, not like a _princess_ princess, but- I mean, I’ve seen _magic,_ like- I’ve met _magic wielders_ -”

She was cut off by Glimmer’s gasp as she saw the girl staring at something. Adora couldn’t make out what she saw from where she stood. Bow and she made their way over to where Glimmer was to be met with a remorseful sight. In front of them was the ruins of a small settlement. The place was absolutely demolished, and it looked like it had happened recently. Fires were still smoldering, and the woods had yet to reclaim the place. Adora’s eyes fell on a small, charred doll on the ground near one of the houses. 

“What _happened_ here?” Adora asked, her voice ragged. 

“Don’t play dumb with me!” Glimmer shouted, red in the face. “I bet you were part of the raiding party that did this!” 

“What are you talking about? The Horde didn’t do this!” Now Adora was shouting as well. There was no way. She refused to believe it. She _couldn’t_ believe it. 

Glimmer roughly gripped Adora’s arm and dragged her to a ruined warforged soldier. It was nonfunctional, seeming to have served its purpose, and emblazoned upon its chest was the insignia of the Horde. 

“Oh yeah? You’re a heartless destroyer, just like the rest of your people!” Glimmer spat, her words laced with venom. 

“I am _not_ a destroyer,” Adora was on the defensive now as she tried to convince Glimmer, or perhaps to convince herself. “Lord Hordak says we’re doing what’s best for Etheria. We’re trying to make things _better._ More orderly.” The words sounded weak, even to her. 

“ _This_ is what’s best for Etheria? Ever since the Horde got here, they’ve been poisoning our lands, burning our cities, destroying everything in their path. And you're a part of it! How’s _that_ for orderly?” Glimmer was almost screaming at that point. She stalked off in a huff, determined to put distance between herself and the despicable Horde soldier.

Adora was left there with Bow, trying to process these new events. “This doesn’t make any sense. The Horde would never do something like this,” _Wouldn’t they, though?_ A part of her asked. _You’ve seen Hordak. You’ve seen Shadow Weaver. Do they seem the benevolent type to you?_

“Did you really not know about _any_ of this?” Bow asked, almost disbelieving. “I mean, your army is called the Evil Horde.” 

“Who calls us that?” Adora snapped, some of her old bravado returning. 

Bow stared at her, incredulous, before he threw up his arms and said “ _Everybody!”_

“The Horde took me in when I was a little kid and gave me a home. They’re my family. You- you don’t _know_ them like I do.” 

She was grasping at straws now. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t admit it to herself. If she did, that meant her whole life had been a lie. It meant that she had spent the past ten years training to serve a monster. To _be_ a monster. She had told herself for years that her leaving the orphanage and Catra behind was a _good_ thing. That it would have been worth it if they could just bring peace to Etheria. The thought that the Horde had taken her away from her home and her closest friend to commit atrocities against her planet was a thought Adora couldn’t bear to consider. 

Bow responded softly, “Maybe you don’t know them like you think you do.” 

Adora whispered to no one in particular, a hint of desperation in her voice, “I had _nothing_ before I was with them. Just the orphanage where I grew up and-” She couldn’t bring herself to say it. She couldn’t bring herself to say her name. 

“And?” 

Adora shook her head sharply. “Nothing.”

Adora and Bow both turned as they heard Glimmer cry out for the second time that day. But this time, it was a cry of fear. As Bow and Adora rushed to get to her, they soon saw the cause of her fear. In the treetops above them stood two giant spiders. They jumped down in front of Glimmer, mandibles clicking together aggressively. 

“Glimmer!” Bow shouted. He was full-on sprinting at this point to get to Glimmer. Glimmer had time to mutter something in a language Adora didn’t recognize and cast a spell that sent a burst of flame-like energy at a nearby spider. Just after, Bow ran in front of her, an arrow nocked in his bow, yelling “Get behind me!” Glimmer’s shot hit one of the giant spiders square in the face, causing it to hiss in pain and anger. 

Adora stood frozen. What should she do? Run? Help these strangers? She looked down to see that Glimmer had dropped the sword in all the commotion. It was just a few feet away from her. She could take it and run. She could find her way back to the Horde and forget that this had ever happened. But did she want to? Was the Horde really as good as she believed it was? If she went back to the Horde now, she might never get the answers she was looking for. Who was Grayskull? What was She-Ra? Why was this happening to her? There were so many things she was unsure of. 

There was something she _was_ sure of, though. These people needed her help. She could help them. And help them she would. She ran to pick up the sword and yelped as Grayskull’s voice popped in her head. “Hello again, Adora. I see you’re having a bit of trouble at the moment. Seeing as this is an opportune time, will you be agreeing to the pact now?” 

“Um, hi, Grayskull- didn’t realize you’d be in my head- uh, no, I just had to use the sword for a bit. I’m, um, still thinking about it?” 

There was a sigh and then Grayskull’s voice returned. “Oh, very well. Perhaps you would allow me to provide some small one-time-only aid regardless? Think of it as a bit of a trial run. It could help you out a bit.” 

“Fine, ok, let’s do that,” Adora said. Every second she wasted here was a second that could have been spent helping Glimmer and Bow. As she watched, the spiders were advancing toward the two. Bow took a shot at one spider, but it went a little too far to the left, missing the spider by centimeters. Both spiders reared up a bit, then shot webs at Glimmer and Bow. Neither of the two could dodge out of the way in time as webs left them unable to move. 

“Excellent.” Grayskull hummed.

Adora saw the gem in the hilt of the sword begin to glow with light as a strange energy buzzed through Adora. It felt like her body had been pumped full of lightning, and she felt a _power_ stirring from inside her. She ran to get closer to the spiders, who were a short distance away from her. 

At about the halfway point, she stopped, planted her feet in a solid stance, reversed the sword in her hand, and thrust out the other palm-forward. Words in a language Adora didn’t realize she knew poured out of her mouth as a beam of crackling energy erupted from her hand and struck the spider Glimmer hadn’t hit. It was blasted in the side as it screeched in agony. 

Both spiders now turned to face Adora. Behind them, Bow and Glimmer were struggling to escape from the webs. Luckily, both of them were able to force their way out of the webbing as the spiders were now facing away from them, distracted. 

Adora charged head on at the two spiders and slashed at the one she had hit before with the sword, chanting more words in the strange language. It made contact and the spider stumbled as transparent, rippling waves formed around it. As it attempted to move away from her, those ripples collapsed in on it with a thunderous boom. It shivered once then fell, dead. 

The other began to move as if to retreat, but it too stumbled and fell as an arrow appeared in its side. Just like that, the fight was over. Adora took a step and fell to her knees, stunned. “How was that for a trial run?” she heard the voice of Grayskull in her mind say smugly. She couldn’t move her mouth to speak. She had used _magic,_ something she had never done before. Was this what Grayskull was offering her? She should be repulsed. This was the enemy’s tool, the method they used to bring misery to all. Yet she felt nothing but exhilaration.

She looked up as Bow and Glimmer came running toward her. Their voices overlapped as they began to talk at the same time. 

“Are you all right?” 

“How did you do that?” 

“I didn’t know you could use magic-” 

“How does a Horde soldier know how to use magic?” 

They glared at each other for a brief moment before Glimmer seemed to win their silent argument, repeating her earlier question. 

“How did you do that?” 

“I don’t know,” Adora responded, feeling a little hollow. 

Glimmer yanked the sword from Adora’s grasp and said, “How do you know Celestial?” 

“...What?” Adora dimly recalled at that moment that the words Glimmer had uttered when she had cast her own spell were similar to the words Adora herself had spoken.

“You just happened to know a language that has barely been spoken in centuries? Were you able to read the symbols in the First Ones’ ruin, too?” 

“Yeah, so what?” Adora asked sharply. Glimmer just scoffed. 

“Lay off her a bit, Glimmer, she _did_ just save us.” Bow interjected. 

“And that means we can just trust her? Do you not remember everything the Horde’s done to us? The people we’ve lost?” Glimmer cried. “We need to get back to Bright Moon and soon. My father will know what to do with her.” She stormed off angrily, and Adora and Bow moved to follow. 

“So… thanks for saving us back there when you could have escaped,” Bow said after a beat of silence. 

“Ok, well, I only helped you because I wasn’t about to wander through this place by myself,” Adora replied gruffly. 

“Are you sure it’s not because you secretly like us?” Bow asked with a teasing smile. 

“What? I don’t like you. You guys tied me up and tried to interrogate me. On multiple occasions!” Adora retorted. 

“Well, thanks for saving us anyway. My name’s Bow, by the way.” 

“Yeah, I heard. I’m Adora.”

“Huh. Weird name for a Horde soldier.”

“Is it?” Adora had never heard that from anyone before. 

“Well, I guess I just thought most Horde soldiers had scary and intimidating names like Deathface or something.” Adora snorted as he said that. “But your name, it’s pretty nice.” 

“Uh, thanks, I guess?” Adora hated to admit it, but she liked Bow. He had such a friendly and upbeat air to him. It was nice to be near someone who wasn’t her ranking officers or stuck up fellow soldiers for once. 

“So… how did you do that earlier? You know, with the magic and the sword and stuff.” Bow asked her, clearly wanting to voice that question for a while. 

Adora shrugged. “I have no idea. I’ve never done anything like that before. All my life people have told me I’m different and now… I guess I know why.” 

“Oh, ok. How were you able to read the writing in the First Ones’ ruin? Not many people can do that. In fact, I think the only people I know who can is Glimmer, her dad, and my dads.”

Adora had a blank look as she stared at him. “Who… are the First Ones?” 

Bow looked surprised. “They were an ancient civilization of inventors and explorers. They’re one of the oldest civilizations we know of. Most of the stuff we’ve uncovered of theirs is written in Celestial, which almost no one reads nowadays. They vanished a long time ago. Nobody knows why. The Horde didn’t tell you about them?” 

“It looks like there’s a lot the Horde didn’t tell me,” Adora murmured darkly.

Glimmer suddenly spun around and turned to Adora, an expression on her face that looked like she was trying to solve a difficult puzzle. “Why are you still here?” she asked, a bit of bite in her voice. 

Adora blinked. “What?” 

“Bow and I aren’t exactly a crack security team. You had plenty of chances to escape. You could have left us to the spiders earlier. Why didn’t you?” The accusation was evident in Glimmer’s voice. 

Adora struggled to find the words to respond. “I just- I want to know what’s happening to me, and if I go back to the Fright Zone, I don’t think I’ll ever know. I got some answers in that ruin, but now I have even more questions. I- I never knew where I came from or who my family was. Lord Hordak said it didn’t matter who I was before, that I was nothing before he took me in. There’s always been a part of me that I don’t know anything about and all of this feels familiar, somehow. I don’t know how else to explain it.”

Bow took the opportunity to enter the conversation. “My dads and Glimmer’s dad know more about the First Ones than anyone. They’ll know what’s going on with you and the sword for sure. So if you want your questions answered… stick with us?” Bow extended his hand for Adora to take. 

Here was an opportunity for Adora. She could stick with these two people and get the answers she wanted. Although, it would probably mean she’d have to leave the Horde. Was she willing to do that? Even after everything, she still held on to a bit of hope that this was all just a big misunderstanding. She wanted so badly for them to be wrong, that everything she had believed the Horde stood for hadn’t been a lie. 

But the doubt was growing inside her like a weed. Maybe she would be better off with these two? Maybe it was worth a try, just for a bit. She could stick around for a while, see if she could figure things out, then leave if it seemed hopeless or if she was wrong about them. 

She reached out to take his hand when Glimmer pushed past them. “We need to go. The sun is down, so we won’t be back in Bright Moon by tonight. There’s a village nearby here. We’ll stay the night, then get a ride to Bright Moon in the morning.” Bow looked back to Adora, almost apologetic, then moved to follow Glimmer. Adora went to go with them.

They walked mostly in silence after that, which left Adora with the opportunity to finally process her talk with Grayskull. Grayskull was… odd. She couldn’t figure him out at all. First of all, his realm and castle were creepy. He did mention that wasn’t his fault, though. Was he stuck there against his will? He also seemed weirdly insistent on making a pact with Adora, although he had apparently been waiting for a very long time. She guessed that that long of a wait could make anyone impatient. Adora couldn’t determine the validity of his claims, but she'd be lying if she said she didn't entertain the possibility of them being true. Especially the one about her origin. She was an _aasimar?_ What did that mean, exactly? Maybe she could ask Bow later, or the people who knew about the First Ones. He talked like he knew Adora well, like he could see inside her mind. Pretty presumptuous of him, but was he wrong about Adora? Not really. She _did_ want to do good in the world, she just hadn't been sure she needed Grayskull to do it. That magic _had_ been pretty helpful though. Maybe forming a pact hadn’t been as bad of an idea as she thought.

After a little while of walking, they finally reached the edge of the Whispering Woods. Adora almost didn’t want to admit how relieved she was. Being in that thick tangle of a forest for hours hadn’t been the most pleasant experience for her, especially because of the curious events that transpired in there. Now she was standing next to her… how exactly should she think of them? Former captors? Associates? _Friends?_

No, they weren’t friends just yet. She hadn’t had a true friend in years. True, there were Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelio, but she had always found herself putting up barriers between them, never really letting them in. It was like she was afraid to make any deep emotional attachments after being taken into the Horde. _Wow_ _,_ she thought wryly. _I wonder why._

Whatever the case was, they were out of the woods and in front of a sizable village. Around the village stretched vast amounts of farmland, rows upon rows of crops. A memory stirred in Adora’s head, but she became distracted by Glimmer pulling her aside as she tried to walk into the village. “Oh no, you don’t!” she said as she dragged Adora back into the treeline. 

“I thought we were going in there,” Adora said, confused. 

“Yeah, we are, but not until we fix… this,” Glimmer explained, gesturing to Adora’s person. “You can’t go in there looking like you’re a Horde soldier or people will freak out.” 

“But I _am_ a Horde soldier.” Adora protested. 

“Well, no one needs to know that. You need a disguise.” 

Without warning, Glimmer suddenly ripped off the cloth covering Adora’s chain mail. 

“Hey!” she shouted reflexively. 

“It’s covered in the Horde insignia, it all has to go. And put that pin away somewhere,” Glimmer said, pointing at Adora’s green Force Captain pin. Sighing, Adora did as she asked. 

After they had made sure that there was no visible Horde emblem anywhere on Adora, Glimmer unclipped her cape and wrapped it around the other girl. She nodded in approval, admiring her handiwork. 

“I look ridiculous,” Adora groaned. 

“You just need a finishing touch,” Bow said with a thoughtful expression, hand on his chin. “Something to tie it all together.” 

He picked a flower from a nearby bush and pinned it in Adora’s hair. Adora grimaced, unused to wearing anything like the ridiculous getup she currently found herself in. 

“I don’t _like_ it,” she said, a bit of a childish whine creeping into her voice. 

Bow and Glimmer looked disgustingly satisfied with her disguise. “Now you look like a regular person.” Glimmer said while Bow followed up with, “A regular person wearing chain mail.” 

Glimmer gave Bow a look, and said, “We’re only going to be here for as long as we have to. Just try to stay out of trouble, ok? We need to find an inn somewhere to get a place to sleep. In the morning, we’ll go to the town hall and request for transport back to Bright Moon.” Finally, they led Adora into the village.

Adora took in the sights of the village as they entered. Despite the dark sky, there were strange multi-colored lights covering nearly every structure, illuminating the whole place. There were people _everywhere_ , but they weren’t moving in any sort of orderly manner like in the Fright Zone. The place was absolutely chaotic, a barrage of unfamiliar sounds and smells assaulting Adora’s senses as they walked through the village. 

“What is this?” Adora asked in bafflement. 

Bow and Glimmer looked at her quizzically. “It’s a festival. You know, like a big party,” Bow said, as if she was supposed to know that. 

Seeing her confused stare, Bow said, aghast, “You don’t have parties in the Fright Zone?” Adora just shook her head. Even back in the orphanage, they’d never had any of these _parties._ Bow’s expression crumbled and he looked at Adora like she was a kicked puppy. 

“Bow! What are you doing?” Glimmer’s sharp voice rang out. 

Bow spun around to face her. “She has never been to a party before, Glimmer. This is serious.” 

Glimmer’s face betrayed no sympathy for Adora. 

“Come on, Glimmer. We have to spend the night, why not take some time to relax and show Adora what a party is? We _did_ just almost die, I think we deserve it.” Bow said, unwilling to give ground. 

Glimmer looked to Bow, then to Adora, then back to Bow, then pressed her face in her hands. “ _Fine,”_ she said begrudgingly. “But no causing trouble.” Bow beamed at her, then grabbed Adora’s hand and started leading her toward the festival. Glimmer followed a little ways behind.

The next hour might have been the most incredible hour of Adora’s life. First, Bow took her to a booth that apparently sold food and smelled _incredible._ He paid the vendor for a large, pink roll, then broke it in half to split with Adora. She put it in her mouth and her brain exploded. It was nothing like the ration bars of the Horde or even the cold gruel from her orphanage days. It melted in her mouth as she tasted the fantastic sweetness that threatened to overwhelm her taste buds. Her eyes lit up as she tried to shove the rest of it into her mouth as quick as she could. 

“That was _so good.”_ she whispered, a note of wonder in her voice. “Is there any other food like that?” 

Bow just smiled and took her to several other booths, where each time she could swear she would die from eating such wondrous new foods. Next, Bow took her to a stage where they watched people dance, as Bow called it. She watched, unable to take her eyes off of the dancers and they spun gracefully in the air, unbound by the gravity of the world. Beside the dancers, others played music from instruments Adora had never seen before to create a warm, melodious sound. 

After the dancers were finished, Bow whispered, “Look, a piñata,” and led her to a small gathering of children who were surrounding a round shape dangling from a tree. As she watched, small bits of candy trickled out of the piñata as the children hit it. She remembered candy from her orphanage days, when some of their caretakers were feeling generous enough to treat the children. It never happened often, though. Bow nudged her forward and all of a sudden a child was handing her a bat to hit the piñata. She looked back to Bow, nervous, and he gave her a thumbs-up of encouragement. 

Determined now, she struck the piñata with all her might, causing it to rip open and pour more candy than Adora had ever seen in her life onto the ground. The children cheered as they all rushed to grab as much candy as they could hold. 

Victory achieved, Adora couldn't help but feel a burning satisfaction as she watched the children scramble over the shattered piñata to pick up candy. She turned to Bow with a wide grin on her face, and was a bit surprised to see him chuckling. 

“What?” she asked, feeling a bit embarrassed. 

“Sorry, I’ve just never seen you that happy before. The whole time in the woods you were like this uber-serious, no-nonsense person, but now you look like you’re having fun.” Bow explained. 

“Oh… yeah, I guess I am,” Adora said, rubbing her neck. She _was_ having fun. This place was incredible. The Horde had said everywhere else was a chaotic cesspool of misery, but this place was… peaceful. She glanced over at Glimmer, who had been trailing them throughout the festival. Unlike every other time she had seen her, the girl only looked slightly hostile towards Adora. She didn’t look as angry as before, which was an improvement.

“So, seriously? No parties, ever? What do you do on your birthday?” Bow asked. 

“Huh?” Adora replied without thinking. She had been lost in her thoughts for a moment. 

Bow seemed to take that the wrong way as his face took on a horrified expression. “No birthdays? How is your life this sad?” 

“No, sorry, I know what a birthday is. I just haven’t celebrated mine in years, not since I left the orphanage. I used to celebrate it with-” She cut herself off before she could finish. She wasn’t going to open up that wound right now. 

“With?” Bow asked, trying to get her to continue. He was met with stony silence. Sensing she didn’t want to keep talking about it, he said, “It’s ok, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. But you know, if we’re going to stick together, you can trust Glimmer and I.” 

“Thanks,” Adora said. Nice of him to not pry. 

She looked up at Glimmer and saw a small bit of sympathy in her eyes. She opened her mouth as if to say something but was interrupted when Bow said, “Look! Come on Adora, you should see this.” 

Glimmer shut her mouth, the moment gone. She followed as Bow led Adora to where a crowd was gathering in front of a woman. She was singing some kind of ballad, playing a lute as she sang, but she was different from the earlier performers. As she went through the lyrics, resonant sound effects appeared out of nowhere, heightening the atmosphere. Spectral figures danced around the performer, giving a visual to the ballad she sang. When she finished the song, the images around her burst into a wave that swept through the audience, leaving them shouting in wonder and excitement. 

The woman bowed as she was met by thunderous applause before vanishing into the crowd. Adora was surprised to find herself clapping as well. “What was that?” she asked Bow, bewildered. “Who was she?” 

Bow grinned. “That was magic she was doing. She’s a bard- a spellcaster that weaves magic through music and song. Pretty cool, right?” His grin became a bit more smug. “Guess not all magic wielders are _violent instigators,_ huh?” Adora had no comeback to that.

Nor would she have to think of one, because at that moment they heard an explosion in the distance. A large fire was blossoming a ways away from them, and there was a split second of eerie silence before the screaming began. Adora saw smoke beginning to rise from several buildings as people rushed to get away. As they ran towards the commotion, they saw before them a force of Horde soldiers storming through the village, burning buildings as they advanced.

“It’s the Horde!,” Glimmer cried as she dragged the three of them behind cover. 

“Why are they here?” Bow asked, shaken. “The people of Thaymor aren’t a threat to them.” 

Adora’s world froze. “What did you just say? No, that can’t be right. This is Thaymor?” 

Glimmer rounded on her, eyes full of hostility again. “Did you _know_ about this?” she hissed at her. 

“No- well, yes, but this can’t be right. This has to be some kind of mistake. Thaymor is…” 

It finally hit Adora. The rows of crops surrounding the town. Shadow Weaver’s words ringing in her ears. _Thaymor, an area vital to Bright Moon due to its importance as a farming region._

How could she have been so blind? Of course this was Thaymor, the object of her mission. She had assumed, had _hoped,_ that it was some sort of fortified stronghold that had something to do with agriculture. She hadn’t expected a town full of civilians unprepared for war. After everything she’d seen, why did she expect this to be any different? 

Because this had been her last chance, she realized. Her last chance to prove to them that the Horde weren’t the monsters they painted them as. And all along, their target was a civilian town. The Horde soldiers were going to burn Thaymor to the ground without a care. And why should they? It’s just some town in princess country, in addition to being an important location to the Rebellion. It didn’t matter to them if they hurt people. They were just following orders.

Well, not if she had anything to say about it.

“I’m going to put a stop to this.” Adora said with a resolute air. Bow and Glimmer looked at her, mouths agape. 

“ _What?_ What are you going to do?” Glimmer asked, voice thick with conflicting emotions. 

Adora tried to keep her own voice from shaking as she said, “I need to talk to them. Maybe I can get them to stand down. But you two need to get out of here. Evacuate everyone you can and stay out of sight.” She took a step away from them, then turned back to look at their faces. She could see fear, shock, and anger in their eyes. The Horde’s fault. _Her_ fault. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. Then she ran.

She heard Bow call out after her, but she was already long gone. She ducked through the rubble of destroyed buildings as she looked for someone, anyone she could reason with. It was a small force, around 20 to 25 soldiers. She needed to find someone who could call off the attack. Her best bet was likely one of the other Force Captains, but she wasn’t too thrilled with her chances at convincing them. Still, she had to try.

She rounded a corner and there stood Octavia in the town square, grinning as she watched the destruction unfold. She turned and met Adora’s gaze, and her expression changed from a grin to a look of complete shock. 

“ _Adora? You’re alive?_ How’d you survive that fall? How’d you survive the _woods?_ Wow, you’re tougher than I gave you credit for, kid! Now that you’re here, how ‘bout I get you back to your squad. They’ve been practically dead to the world since you took that tumble, it's pathetic. Wait a minute, what are you _wearing?_ ”

Adora realized that she was still wearing Glimmer’s cape and the flower. She quickly tugged them off, then glared at Octavia. 

“Did you know?” 

Octavia’s expression became confused. “Know what?” 

“Did you know we were given orders to attack a civilian town?” Adora shouted, her voice rising with every word. 

Octavia scoffed. “Seriously? Don’t tell me you were too dumb to put two and two together. What kind of ‘vital farming region’ were you expecting? And besides, what’s it matter to you? They serve _princesses._ They deserve everything that's comin’ to them.”

Adora’s vision went red for a moment. She almost couldn’t believe what she just heard, the ease at which Octavia brushed off the deaths of countless innocents. “You would condemn normal people to death? This is wrong, Octavia! You have to call this attack off. You’re the senior Force Captain, you have that authority.” Adora pleaded. 

Octavia’s face immediately warped into a mask of rage and she said, “What I _have_ to do is knock some sense into this idiotic Force Captain who thinks she can tell me what to do. You think you’re hot stuff and can boss people around because Lord Hordak thinks you’re some special star child? You need to get a grip on reality, girl. This is _war_ . We’re the Horde. We won’t rest until every town like this is razed, and every kingdom flies our banner. Now you’d better quit this bleeding heart routine before I _make_ you, got it? Or maybe I’ll just bust you up anyway just to teach you a lesson.”

At that moment, Adora came to a decision. The flames surrounding them paled in comparison to the roaring fire in Adora’s soul. Her outrage and disgust solidified into a determination that could shatter mountains. That was it. Enough was enough.

“ _No,”_ Adora growled. 

Octavia’s one good eye narrowed. “ _What did you just say?”_

Adora pulled out her Force Captain pin, held it out where Octavia could see it, and slowly crushed it in her hand. “ _I. Said. No.”_ The pieces fell from her hand into the soft earth by her feet. Never again would she fight for the Horde. She knew the truth now- the Horde weren’t the saviors of Etheria she had believed they were. They were warmongers who would destroy everything in their path to get what they wanted. And she wasn’t going to stand by while they destroyed this town.

“I won’t sit and watch while the Horde burns towns and slaughters innocents. I’m _done._ I’m done with Hordak, I’m done with Shadow Weaver, and I’m done with the Horde. No more. I will _never_ fight on the side of monsters like you, and I will do everything in my power to bring you down.”

Octavia took a good, long look at her, as if sizing her up. Finally, she seemed to find whatever she was searching for and came to a decision. She shifted into a fighting stance, drawing her greatsword from its sheath on her back. 

“ _Then die,”_ she hissed, and suddenly she was lunging at Adora.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here I was thinking I could finish the first arc in three chapters. Oh well. The cliffhangers continue!
> 
> Also,
> 
> Eldritch BlaAaAst....
> 
> SPELL LIST  
> "She smiled wickedly, hands lighting up with radiant energy." Glimmer readied Sacred Flame  
> "Glimmer had time to... cast a spell that sent a burst of flame-like energy at a nearby spider." Glimmer used Sacred Flame  
> "...a beam of crackling energy erupted from her hand and struck the spider Glimmer hadn’t hit." Adora used Eldritch Blast  
> "It made contact and the spider stumbled as transparent, rippling waves formed around it. As it attempted to move away from her, those ripples collapsed in on it with a thunderous boom." Adora used Booming Blade  
> "As she went through the lyrics, resonant sound effects appeared out of nowhere, heightening the atmosphere. Spectral figures danced around the performer, giving a visual to the ballad she sang." Random Bard used Minor Illusion multiple times


	4. The Pact (The Beginning Part 4)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora, Bow, and Glimmer battle for Thaymor. Adora gives Grayskull her answer. New faces come into play.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT
> 
> This writing stuff is fun, I see why people here like it so much!
> 
> (Also this is the end of the first arc this time I promise)

Adora dodged out of the way just as Octavia swung at her with a huge overhead strike. The blade struck the stone so forcefully that the ground trembled just a bit from the blow. She was in serious trouble. Being unarmed and facing an opponent nearly twice her size was an immense tactical disadvantage for her. She needed something to use as a weapon, or else she was about to meet an untimely demise.

She backed up and nearly tripped on a piece of rubble from a nearby building. This act saved her life, however, as she was stumbling back just as Octavia took another swing at her. The blade swung so close to her face Adora could feel the air disrupted as the sword tore in a horizontal arc.

Adora picked up the rubble that saved her life, a chunk of wood she could use as an impromptu shield, and rolled out of the way as Octavia tried to strike at her again with her sword with a frustrated shout. “How long you gonna keep running for, coward?”

Adora finally found something resembling a weapon in the form of a long, twisted piece of metal that had been ripped off of one of the store windows. The end had been warped into a decent point. Good. She could use this. She was slightly less dead than she thought she would be.

With the makeshift spear and shield, she actually managed to keep Octavia at bay for a while. They exchanged blows as they moved around the town square in their dance of death. Adora managed to get a few solid hits in, puncturing Octavia’s armor in several places that were now leaking purple blood.

It wasn’t all going Adora’s way, though. Octavia had also broken through Adora’s defenses on a few occasions. Her armor had failed her as Octavia’s sword carved through the metal, giving Adora several long, shallow cuts that sapped her strength the more they fought.

After about a minute of fighting, Octavia sent Adora flying away from her with a mighty shove. She stumbled for a bit as she attempted to regain her balance. Octavia drove her sword into the ground. “Let's try somethin' different _,_ ” she said. Adora had a bad feeling as Octavia put her fingers into her mouth and let out a piercing whistle. A dark-robed figure- Adora recognized them as a Spectre, a low-ranking member of the Guild of Shadows, based on their clothing- rose from a nearby rooftop and began muttering words she couldn't make out. That was the last thing Adora saw before the world went black.

She was suddenly surrounded by an oppressive, suffocating darkness from all angles, but something was wrong. She couldn’t _see._ She was completely blind in this area. Whatever this was, this wasn’t normal darkness. Octavia’s voice came from somewhere in the shadow, saying, “Shadow Weaver gave me one of her pets to play with. Not what I expected to use 'em for, but it’s gonna make this so much more _fun_.” She had a split second to react as she heard the telltale sound of Octavia’s sword before it struck the space she was standing not two seconds ago. She was literally in the dark as she had to dodge blow after blow coming her way. She had no idea where Octavia was or how to counter this new tactic. All she could do was survive for as long as she could and hope her luck held out.

The whole time, Octavia taunted her. “You really thought you could just walk away? How stupid can you be? You’re nothin’ without the Horde! You’re a weak, naive little girl! You think carin’ about these people makes you some kinda hero? You think the Rebellion’d accept you with open arms? All they’d see is a Horde soldier. But you’re not even that anymore. You’re just a dead girl walkin'.”

Finally, Octavia’s sword hit home. Adora was too slow to get out of the way in time before Octavia’s sword bit deep into her shoulder. It was the worst agony she had ever experienced. She let out a ragged scream as Octavia hissed triumphantly, “ _There you are.”_ She dropped her spear and shield and fell to her knees. _What a horrible way to die_ , she thought to herself. _I’m sorry, Bow. I’m sorry, Glimmer. I couldn’t stop them. This is all my fault._

Suddenly, a cry of pain could be heard nearby. Adora’s vision returned as the darkness cleared, though it was now tinged in red. She could just make out the figure on the roof staggering back with an arrow in the fleshy part of their shoulder. The Spectre looked like they had tried to catch it in their hand, but they hadn’t been fast enough to stop all the damage. Octavia was right in front of her, bringing her sword down in an executioner’s sweep. She stopped as she heard the scream and whipped around to see where the arrow had come from.

She was stopped from doing that, however, as a barrage of sparks appeared right in front of her face. She roared in anger, trying to be rid of the pesky lights, but they remained. Adora felt herself being dragged into one of the stores by a figure she couldn’t make out. She could have swore she heard a voice, then the sound of someone being violently ill, but her senses were dulled to an extreme. Her vision was creeping from red to black. She was about to pass out. 

She closed her eyes for what might have been the last time, but then gasped as a flow of energy seeped into her. She dimly felt the cuts adorning her body begin to close and her injured arm begin to repair itself. Her eyes shot open to see the tired face of Glimmer staring down at her. She looked like she had had a rough time, though nearly not as rough as Adora. Her body was covered in a shimmering blue force, likely serving as magical protection.

Adora coughed and rasped, “Glimmer? What are you doing? Why’d you save me?” Outside, they could hear Octavia screaming for Adora to come out. Glimmer pulled the sword from her back. “We need you. We need your powers. I should have never taken the sword from you. You saved us and I knew that. But I was stupid and a jerk and I’m sorry.” She started to cry, whether from regret or exhaustion Adora didn’t know.

“You’re not any of those things. I’m the Horde soldier. How do you know that you can trust me now?”

“I don’t,” Glimmer replied. She wiped her eyes and offered the sword to Adora. "But I hope I can. I feel like, maybe, you’re here to help us.”

Adora didn’t know how to respond. This girl had no reason to trust her. The Horde had ruined countless lives, Glimmer’s among them. She should punish her, lock her up somewhere she would never see the light of day again. And yet here she was, offering Adora the sword. Offering her trust.

And Adora took it. She knew what she had to do.

Gripping the sword in her hands, she felt the presence of Grayskull in her mind. Expectant. Waiting. Somehow she felt like he knew exactly what she was about to say.

“I’m ready.”

Glimmer blinked, confused. She didn’t know about Grayskull. To her, Adora looked like she was talking to no one.

Adora heard a deep rumbling in her mind as Grayskull whispered, “ _At last.”_ She could feel him, vibrating with excitement and triumph.

“What do I have to do?”

_“Say the words.”_

“What are the words?”

Grayskull told her the words.

Adora nodded and stood up with only a little difficulty. She looked at Glimmer, who was looking very confused at the moment. “I’ll explain later. Octavia’s my fight. Can you help Bow take care of the Spectre?” Glimmer nodded. “All right.” Glimmer got up to rush out the door, but was stopped by Adora’s voice. “Wait!” She turned to get pulled into a hug by Adora. “Thank you,” Adora whispered, tears in her eyes. _For trusting me. For giving me a second chance to be a good person._

“It’s alright. That’s what friends do,” Glimmer said in a friendlier tone than Adora had ever heard from her. Adora blinked in surprise. “Friends… Yeah, I think I should give friends another shot.” She untangled herself from Glimmer and stepped out the door.

Shards of glass crunched under her feet as she stepped out of the doorway to observe the scene in front of her. Octavia was tearing the place apart trying to find Adora, and a wicked smirk grew across her face as she laid eyes on her again. “Let’s finish this,” she snarled. She looked around for the Spectre, but she saw them in furious combat with Bow on the rooftops, who was holding his own pretty well. Glimmer rushed out the door to help Bow, but Octavia was too fixated on Adora to care. 

“Forget it. You’re mine, traitor.” Octavia said before her eyes flicked to Adora’s sword. The sword that she was raising over her head as she shouted with the fury of all those innocent souls whose lives had been claimed by the Horde, “FOR THE HONOR OF GRAYSKULL!”

The sword erupted in bright white light that engulfed the entire square. When it faded, there Adora stood. She was _glowing_ with power, intricate blue lines interweaving through her entire body. The buzzing electricity she had felt in the woods had returned, but a hundred times stronger. All the cuts and scrapes not completely healed by Glimmer were gone, leaving Adora looking like she was fresh into the fight. Her armor’s dull gray had been replaced by a gleaming white, and it shone like new. The sword hummed in Adora’s grasp, and she felt like she had been meant to hold it all her life.

Octavia just gaped in shock at the scene that unfolded in front of her. Adora’s eyes were suddenly boring into her with a force she had never known. The girl held out a hand and traced a strange rune in the air that rocketed towards Octavia and hit her square in the face. All of a sudden, she was lit up with tiny blue runes that flickered in and out of existence around her. 

Octavia had a terrible feeling about the current situation as she realized that the odds were beginning to shift out of her favor. She watched as Adora dipped her fingers into a nearby fountain and wiped the water in a line down her chest. As she watched, the water froze into ice and spread across the rest of her body in a thin layer, almost like a second set of armor. Octavia opted to go for the offensive approach then. She rushed forward, screaming like a banshee as she attempted to get the upper hand once more.

Adora looked to see Octavia rushing towards her, screaming with a mad energy. She brought up her sword to meet the other woman’s stroke and it held, even against the crushing force of the blow. She then followed up with a parry before replying with a strike of her own. The sword tore through Octavia’s armor like it was nothing, leaving a long gash across her chest.

They went on like that for some time, with Octavia raining mighty blows down upon Adora and Adora countering after deflecting all of the strikes. Well, nearly all. Octavia managed to graze Adora’s arm with one hit. At last! She had wounded her! The triumphant feeling was quickly replaced by panic as she felt a sudden chill so painful she almost dropped her sword. A biting frost had spread from Adora's body to her hands, leaving them numb and clumsy. That spell Adora had cast on herself had protected her from the blow while injuring Octavia. She really _hated_ magic.

That was the last blow of the fight, for Adora used her opponent’s shock and incoordination to disarm her of her weapon. With a flick of her own sword, she sent it flying into a yet-unburnt pile of hay where it stuck. She leveled her sword at Octavia, who gazed at her with a mixture of fear, rage, and awe as she slumped down, defeated. Adora at last noticed how _tired_ she looked. They had been marching for hours only to immediately enter combat. That took a lot out of a person. If the other Horde soldiers were in as bad shape as Octavia, then maybe Thaymor had more of a chance than she had thought. 

“You are going to leave this village and never come back. Tell Hordak that if he ever threatens Thaymor again, I’ll make him regret it.” Octavia slowly nodded, saying nothing. She stood up with shaky feet, looking as if she half expected Adora to cut her down right then and there. The Force Captain backed up slowly, one step at a time, then turned and ran. After a few moments, Adora could no longer see her. It was over. She had won. She had defected against the Horde! 

Oh. 

_Oh._

_She had defected against the Horde._

Adora struggled not to hyperventilate right there. She just turned against her only family for the last 10 years. She was a defector now. A traitor. She could never go back.

“You’ll be just fine,” Grayskull said to her. “The fight’s over. I’m quite impressed, frankly. Be proud of yourself. You’re going to make an _excellent_ warlock.”

Well, it wasn’t quite over yet. She had no idea where Glimmer and Bow were. Were they ok? Did they drive off the Spectre? How was the battle going everywhere else? There were still more Horde soldiers to deal with. Her head shot up as she heard the sound of voices in the distance.

“Bright Moon’s forces have arrived!”

“The King is here!”

Adora rushed towards the voices. It sounded like reinforcements had arrived, which was good. The battle would soon be over, and Thaymor would be saved. This was a decisive victory for the Rebellion. Her happiness turned to ash in her mouth as she heard a familiar, crackling voice call out to her from across the street- “Adora!”

She turned to see Bow stumbling towards her, dragging along an unconscious Glimmer. Her eyes were closed and her face was pale. Adora couldn’t tell if she was breathing. “What happened?” Adora cried, frantic. “We were fighting the person on the rooftops, and then they threw a dagger or something at Glimmer! She took a bad fall and she won’t wake up,” Bow replied, clearly panicking.

Adora heard a familiar sound behind her as a massive horse galloped into the street. A man was riding it, a regal looking figure with graying hair and an ornate staff. He jumped off the beast and teleported to the trio, crying “Glimmer!” with a strained voice. He turned his head and yelled, “We need a medic over here!” He cradled her in his arms, whispering to her as Bow and Adora held each of her hands.

Adora was petrified, not sure what to do. Glimmer was _dying._ Was there nothing she could do? She wanted Glimmer to be alright. She wanted her _friend_ to be alright.

As she was thinking this, she heard Bow gasp in soft wonder. She opened her eyes to see that her hands were glowing with a soft golden light. As they watched, the color returned to Glimmer’s face as her wounds shrank a small bit. She took a shuddering breath, and her eyes cracked open. “Dad? Bow?” She looked around and locked eyes with Adora. “Adora? Did… we win?”

“Yeah,” Adora whispered. “We did it. You did it.” Glimmer gave a small smile. “Awesome. G’night.” Her eyes closed once more and she passed out. Adora saw that Bow and Glimmer’s dad were looking at her in shock. “That was like no magic I’ve ever seen before. How did you do that?” Glimmer’s dad asked. Adora just whispered, “I don’t know.”

“Well, you saved my daughter’s life. For that, I…” His eyes drifted to Adora’s sword and his expression became even more shocked, if that were possible. “Is that what I think it is? No… it can’t be…”

“What is it?” Adora asked.

“This is a legendary relic, not seen in a thousand years. This is the Sword of Protection, the weapon wielded by the ancient hero She-Ra. If you wield this sword, that means… the title falls to you now.” he said, awed. Adora wasn't sure how to handle that. At the very least, she knew was She-Ra was now. Glimmer's dad picked up his daughter in his arms as if she was a small child. “Come to Bright Moon Castle with me. I’d like to discuss this in more depth there.”

At that point, soldiers flooded the street they were on. A dark-skinned man that closely resembled Bow dismounted from his own horse and stormed over, clearly upset. “Micah, you can’t just go off ahead like that. What if something had happened to you? We’re here to keep you safe, and we can’t do that…” He trailed off as he saw the mess in front of him.

“ _Bow?”_ he said, aghast. He ran his hands through his hair as he said angrily, “Of course you’d be here. Micah was right, why am I not surprised you two are here? _What were you thinking?_ Do you know how freaked out Micah was when Princess Glimmer disappeared without a trace? What if she had gotten hurt? In fact, look at her! She did get hurt! And is that my bow? I was looking everywhere for that! You are in _so much trouble,_ young man.” Bow looked ashamed, lowering his eyes and shuffling his feet.

The newcomer looked at Adora and did a double take when he saw the sword. “ _Is that the Sword of Protection?”_ he gasped, rushing over. The anger in his eyes had vanished, replaced by a childlike fascination. “Um, yeah? Apparently? I think so,” Adora said, nervous. She wasn’t used to this kind of attention. 

“Do you know what this means? This sword hasn’t been seen in centuries. It was apparently the crowning achievement of the First Ones and now you have it! That means you’re the new She-Ra! This is incredible." His expression froze as he took another moment to examine Adora. "Wait a minute,” he said, his eyes looking her over. “I recognize that armor design. You’re _Horde?”_

All of the soldiers had their weapons drawn in an instant, aimed at Adora. King Micah looked surprised before his expression changed into a look of anger and mistrust. “I am, yeah. _Was,_ I mean. I defected. I’m not with them anymore. Trust me, they definitely hate me now.” Adora said, dropping the sword and slowly raising her arms to indicate she wasn’t a threat.

“Wait!” Bow cried, pushing his way to Adora. He spread out his arms as if to protect her. “Adora’s not one of them anymore. We’ve spent time together, she’s a good person.”

“Bow, get away from her,” the dark-skinned man said through gritted teeth.

“No, Dad! You can’t make me.”

“How do you know she can be trusted?”

“Because she saved our lives. On multiple occasions. She just saved Glimmer’s life not two minutes ago. She tried to stop the Horde from attacking Thaymor, and she turned against them when they refused. She fought to defend the village, to defend the Rebellion. She’s not part of the Horde anymore. I vouch for her.” Bow looked like he wasn’t backing down, and Adora was eternally grateful for his vote of confidence. Was this what having true friends felt like? It had been so long she had almost forgotten.

“I vouch for her too,” Glimmer said, finally regaining consciousness in King Micah’s arms. He looked down at his daughter in surprise.

“Glimmer-” King Micah warned, but she cut him off as she got back on her feet, casting another healing spell on herself.

“She’s not like the rest of the Horde, Dad! She’s not evil. I believe that she’s a good person, and I’ve seen her do good things. Selfless things, _heroic_ things. I trust her. I trust that she wants to fight to protect Etheria. So _please_ , tell them to stand down.”

King Micah looked conflicted. This was the moment of truth. Adora, Bow, and Glimmer held their breath, anxious. What would his decision be? What would they do if he ordered her arrested, or worse? He scanned the three friends’ faces for what felt like ages before conceding. “Stand down.” The soldiers all sheathed their weapons, though they looked ready to redraw them at the slightest provocation.

“But Micah-”

“That’s enough, George.” 

George looked like he wanted to say more, but thought better of it. He looked to Bow. “We’re going to have a talk about this later, understand?” Bow nodded. “Ok, Dad. You guys deserve an explanation.”

King Micah stepped towards Adora. He looked at her solemnly as he asked, “You’d stand against the ones you once fought side by side with?” Adora nodded as she knelt before him. She was pretty sure people were supposed to kneel in front of royalty. “I know what they’ve done. I know what they will continue to do, unless someone stops them. I’m ready to fight. I just want to be given a chance to.” She picked up her sword from the ground and offered it up to him. He seemed satisfied with that answer as he looked to Glimmer. “Would you and Bow take responsibility for her?” They nodded as well. 

“I always thought She-Ra was a myth,” King Micah mused, taking the sword from Adora and examining it in his hand. “An ancient warrior said to return when the world needed her most. An old children’s tale, I thought. A story to give people hope in troubled times. Yet here you stand. In the armor of the enemy, no less. But my daughter and her friend vouch for you." He offered the sword back to Adora, who took it. "I accept your allegiance. Rise, She-Ra, Princess of Power.”

Adora stood as she was suddenly swept up by a giant group hug with Bow and Glimmer. “Looks like you’re with us now, Horde spy. Welcome to the Rebellion,” Glimmer said. “Yeah, Best Friend Squad!” Bow cried, tears of joy in his eyes.

“George, what’s the status of Thaymor?” King Micah asked. “It was a complete success. We routed the Horde forces, and we captured about half. The rest escaped. It looked like the invaders had been exhausted from hours of marching, so they were easy to dispatch,” George responded.

“Any casualties?”

“Thankfully none, though it could have been much worse,” George gave a pointed glare to Bow and Glimmer.

“Did you capture any members of the Guild of Shadow? There were a few of them in the invasion force,” Adora asked, surprising herself as she spoke. King Micah and George turned to her. “No, I don’t think we did. No Guild of Shadow members had been sighted,” George said, rubbing his chin. “Well, Glimmer and I fought one,” Bow offered. “You WHAT?” the two fathers shouted simultaneously. 

“Yeah, there was this person on the rooftops that cast some kind of shadow spell on Adora, and Glimmer and I distracted them. It was crazy hard. At one point, they _caught_ one of my arrows. Then they threw it back at me!” Bow said, his excitement clear. It faded significantly as he finished with, “And then Glimmer, uh, got hit, and then, she, um, fell… But then Adora healed her, so she’s fine now.”

“I feel like garbage, Bow.”

“Oh, my bad. Sorry. We should, uh, probably get back to Bright Moon.”

King Micah and George gave each other a look that seemed to carry a whole conversation.

“All right then.”

“Let’s go home. We're done here.”

They made their way out of the streets of Thaymor to a large main road. There, the Bright Moon soldiers had gathered, waiting for their General and their King. “How did you know to come to Thaymor, Dad? This was a surprise attack,” Glimmer asked her father. “Part of being King is being informed about as much as you can, especially when it comes to the enemy. I have someone who helps keep me up to date on the Horde's activities… for a price. We got a tip that an attack would occur, so we gathered troops to come and defend Thaymor. I came myself because you vanished, and you always seem to end up in the middle of wherever there's the most trouble,” King Micah responded as Glimmer chuckled nervously. So there was a spy within the Horde’s ranks? Adora wondered who it was.

“Do you know how to ride?” King Micah asked her as they approached the horses. “Yeah, I’m alright at it. The Horde made sure cadets learned how to ride quickly. They punished us pretty bad any time we messed up, so most people got good fast,” Adora replied, figuring honesty was the best course of action right now. King Micah looked a bit taken aback as he said, “Well, then you can ride with Bow. I’ll ride with Glimmer. I think we need to have a talk.” Glimmer gulped at that, but she gave Adora an encouraging smile as she walked away with her father.

They were given a sturdy-looking brown horse and they both got on with no trouble. As they rode toward Bright Moon, Bow asked, “So I was kinda busy trying not to die, but I saw you during your fight, and I noticed you were glowing. And, uh, casting spells and stuff. What was that about?” Adora gulped. She wasn’t sure how she was going to tell Bow and Glimmer about Grayskull, but that wasn’t the kind of information she felt she could keep secret. She also really didn't want to lie to her new friends. “So, remember back in the temple?”

“You mean, when you were frozen in place clutching the sword, and your eyes were glowing? It took us _forever_ to pry that thing out of your hands.”

“Wait, what? Uh, yeah, I guess, that. I was… talking to someone.”

Bow eyes widened as he looked at her. “Who were you talking to?”

“It was this guy made of obsidian? Well, he was just a voice first, but then he became a person. His hand felt real enough, though, but it was weird. He also had an obsidian castle, and the whole place- sorry, I’m getting off topic. The point is, he talked to me. Told me things about myself I didn’t know. He also gave me an offer. The power to do great things, or something like that. And when I went out to fight Octavia, I accepted.”

“What did he ask for in return?”

“He said he wanted me to remake the world or something? Kinda vague.”

“Hmm. That seems a bit suspicious.”

“Yeah, I guess. I did it because I thought that I could use it to make a difference, y’know? Stop the Horde. I wanted to be able to help people. And besides, I think we would have all died without him. He helped me out with the spiders earlier.”

Bow grinned at her. “So that’s how you did that. Pretty noble motivations you have. Although, if things between Obsidian Man-”

“Grayskull.”

“If things between Grayskull and you don’t work out, then we’ll figure it out together. Cause that’s what best friends do.”

Adora smiled. “Thanks, Bow.”

“No problem, Adora. Although I guess you’ve got yourself a title now. _She-Ra, Princess of Power._ Pretty cool if you ask me.”

“I don’t even know what to do with that information right now. I’m exhausted. It’s been a long day.”

“Yeah. Yeah it has.”

The two friends rode off into the night, toward Bright Moon Castle. Toward the future. Toward hope.

\-------------------------

The figure cloaked in dark robes stumbled back to the entrance of the mountain pass with the rest of those who had escaped, nursing her injuries as she walked and trying to keep her hands from shaking too bad. She was attempting and failing to fight off a wave of panic and revulsion from using her mentor’s magic. Of everything she had done to her, this might have been the worst. This, and the Darkening. Not that her shadow abilities had helped in the end.

 _Well, that was a complete disaster_ , she thought. She had been shot with a couple arrows by that stupid half elf boy. She had managed to throw some back at him, served him right, but she hadn’t managed all of them. She had been hit in the shoulder and in the leg, both of which were still throbbing painfully. The other Horde soldiers weren’t exactly accomplished medics, so she was stuck with her injuries as they were until she could get to someone who actually knew what they were doing. Right now she had to deal with rotting bandages.

At least she had gotten a solid hit on the sparkly girl, who had promptly fallen off the roof with a shriek. The boy had left her alone then as he went after the girl, giving her a chance to escape. She would laugh at the memory of the girl’s shocked face if she didn’t _hurt_ so much.

She was almost glad for the pain, though. The pain meant she didn’t have to think much. She didn’t have to think about seeing Adora for the first time in ten years, didn’t have to think about how she just turned into a glowing lady with a massive sword. Didn’t have to think about how she just went to go play hero with the Rebellion, running away from the Horde.

Running away from her.

The girl tugged off her hood, revealing a thick mane that puffed up around her as if she had just decided to take a stroll outside during a lightning storm. Two catlike ears adorned her face as they whipped around, scanning for any sign of trouble. She sighed to herself. Trouble had already found her plenty. Shadow Weaver would probably have her hide when she got back, blaming her for how things went. She was always blaming her for something.

She gritted her sharpened teeth. She didn’t want to think about Shadow Weaver right now. Actually, she didn’t want to think about anything at all. She felt the familiar rage churn within her, but for once it didn't bubble out. For once, she didn't want to be angry. She just wanted to curl in a ball and maybe cry a bit. Her heterochromatic eyes had already filled with the beginnings of tears. She sniffed and wiped them away, hissing at a soldier who tried to approach her. She was so tired. She had a long walk ahead of her. What lay at the end, she wasn’t quite sure. Pain? Satisfaction? Misery?

Her best friend?

She kept walking along with the remains of the Horde force as they continued into the night.

“Hey, Adora,” Catra said up into the dark sky, twinkling with stars. “Long time no see.”

\-------------------------

“WHAT?” the commander of the Horde raged as one of his Force Captains recounted the story for their utter failure at Thaymor. Hordak slammed his fist down on the arm of his throne, making Octavia flinch at the sound. “What do you mean, _defected_?” he hissed.

“She’s gone. Ran off to the Rebellion. She’s got fancy _princess powers_ now. Magic and stuff,” Octavia replied with venom. “Said don’t come back to Thaymor unless you wanted to get hurt.”

Hordak stood up from his throne and made his way down to where Octavia knelt. He was an intimidating presence, almost more machine than person. Not that he was like any person Octavia had ever seen before, with a pale face, blue hair, and piercing red eyes. There were hisses as gusts of air blasted out of his joints as he made his way down the stairs. The room was uncharacteristically silent, the only sound being his heavy metal boots clanking with each step. 

“Get up,” he commanded. She did as he asked, unsure of where this was going. There was a pause, then without warning Hordak’s armored hand shot out and grabbed Octavia by the throat, lifting her into the air. “The attack on Thaymor was a colossal failure. One of the Horde’s greatest assets defected. All under your command. There will be _punishment_ for this,” he growled, voice dangerously low.

“It wasn’t... my fault,” Octavia croaked, desperate for air. “She... had a sword. It gave her some kinda magic. We were outnumbered by Bright Moon forces. Please… give me another chance. I can go kill her. Just give me another chance.”

“Are you asking me to have mercy on you, Force Captain?” Hordak said slowly. “Are you asking me to forgive your grievous faults? To allow you to try again?” Octavia nodded so hard she feared her head would fly off. There were spots in her vision, and her hearing was fading in and out.

He suddenly turned and slammed Octavia into a nearby wall, the force knocking the remaining air out of her. “Mercy is a weakness,” Hordak snarled. “We are the Horde. We do not tolerate such things. You failed. Miserably. And now you shall _suffer.”_

Hordak turned his head over to where his imp familiar sat, watching. “Let Shadow Weaver know,” he barked at it. “Tell her I need her assistance to get my aasimar back.” The imp cackled and flew out of the room, heading to the Guild of Shadows temple Shadow Weaver called home. As it left the room, the opened door gave those nearby an opportunity to hear the horrible screaming coming from within Hordak’s throne room. A high-pitched scream that went on for a painfully long time, but then cut off. The Fright Zone was still once more.

\-------------------------

In the temple of the Guild of Shadows, in Shadow Weaver’s sanctum, she had just been presented with wonderful news. Hordak’s imp had shown up at her window with an excited energy to it. It opened its mouth and Hordak’s voice came out. “The aasimar girl has defected from the Horde. You will bring her back to me as soon as possible. She is of great importance to us, and she cannot be allowed to slip out of our grasp. That is all.” Shadow Weaver nodded to convey she understood. The imp cackled at her and flew out of the open window into the night. Adora had defected? How intriguing.

Shadow Weaver moved over to where the Black Garnet stood, where her own warped reflection stared back at her. She still had her mask on. She couldn’t stand the look of her own face, even after all those years. Not after what had been done to it. She looked into the massive runestone, and her mask peered back.

“Show me Adora,” she commanded. The Garnet remained dormant. She cursed and poured more of her magic into it, bending it to her will. “ _Wretched thing,_ ” she hissed. “I control you!” It still dared to resist her? After years of using its magic for her own? She would not let this stand. The Black Garnet would not get the better of her.

At last, the Garnet caved, and an image appeared on its surface. She saw Adora riding on a horse with some boy, looking like the picture of strength as always. She remembered the day she first laid eyes upon her in that backwater town. Shadow Weaver saw in her that day something she wanted. Desperately. But Hordak had ripped her away from Shadow Weaver. He had made her act like a soldier when the whole time she could have been so much more. Now look where it had gotten him. She had run off to play with some princesses. But this was a good turn of events. In fact, it was fantastic. How Shadow Weaver desired for Adora to join her by her side. And now here was her chance.

“Oh Adora,” she crowed. “What a _wonderful_ opportunity you have presented me with.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YEAH ALRIGHT WE'RE DONE WITH THE FIRST ARC! I might slow down a little bit after this, I was just really eager to crank out the beginning of the story. The whole one chapter a day thing was kinda crazy. I'm thinking next chapter will be Adora adjusting to her new life in Bright Moon Castle while maybe Glimmer argues with her dad about the war. Could be shorter than the previous chapters. Then we get back into the good stuff. I'm not even sure if I'll have a schedule at this point, I might just post new chapters as soon as I make them. We'll see.
> 
> Also, never let it be said that prestidigitation isn't a useful spell
> 
> SPELL LIST  
> "She was suddenly surrounded by an oppressive, suffocating darkness from all angles, but something was wrong." Catra used Darkness  
> "She was stopped from doing that, however, as a barrage of sparks appeared right in front of her face." Glimmer used Prestidigitation multiple times  
> "She dimly felt the cuts adorning her body begin to close and her injured arm begin to repair itself." Glimmer used Cure Wounds  
> "Her body was covered in a shimmering blue force, likely serving as magical protection." Glimmer used Mage Armor  
> "As she watched, the water froze into ice and spread across the rest of her body in a thin layer..." Adora used Armor of Agathys  
> "...she cut him off as she got back on her feet, casting another healing spell on herself." Glimmer used Cure Wounds  
> "At last, the Garnet caved, and an image appeared on its surface." Shadow Weaver used Scrying (yes I'm aware that's not on the Sorcerer spell list but chill it's for a reason)


	5. Bright Moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Best Friend Squad returns to Bright Moon. Adora has a talk with King Micah. Glimmer receives good news. Bow starts some new training. Adora receives a history lesson.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah yes, the chapter in which I attempt to write deep and meaningful dialogue. 
> 
> Also yay, more world building! Info dumps! So much fun!

They reached Bright Moon at around midnight. The imposing castle of Bright Moon stood before them, towering over the returning soldiers. The golds and purples of the castle, before seeming garish to Adora, now felt oddly comforting as they passed through the large gates. It had been a long day for everyone, and she was just glad they had reached a safe place for them to stay. It occurred to Adora that this castle would be her new home now. She wondered how different it would be from the Horde. At least the food was way better.

She shook Bow, who was nodding off as their horse trotted into the castle yard, and he started awake as the gates shut behind them. “Welcome to Bright Moon, Adora,” Bow said with a tired smile. “You’re gonna love it here.” His drooping eyes shot open as they heard a voice cry out, “Bow!” Running over to them was a man Adora assumed was Bow’s other father.

“Do you have any idea how worried we have been? Where were you? What were you thinking, running off with the Princess and George’s bow? What if something happened to you two?” he exclaimed with heat.

“Something _did_ happen, though. Something amazing. Dad, meet Adora. Adora, this is Lance, my other dad. Adora here’s-”

“She-Ra,” Lance whispered. The half elf man’s eyes bugged out of his head as he took in the sight of the Sword of Protection. “You’re the new She-Ra? Someone has claimed the sword after all this time? Oh, this is incredible. Have you talked to George about this?” Adora noticed his voice cracked a bit when he was excited, just like Bow.

“Actually-”

“ _Actually,_ the three of us were just about to have a talk together about the stunt you pulled today. Isn’t that right, Bow?” George said behind them as he walked closer.

“That’s right, we’re still mad at you.” Lance said as if he had to remind himself. “And you’re not going anywhere until you’ve explained yourself. Let’s go inside.”

“But Lance-”

“No buts! George is right, we need to talk.”

Bow flashed an apologetic look at Adora as she watched his two fathers drag him away into the castle. He mouthed _Go find Glimmer,_ before they disappeared into the corridors. She heard them talking before they faded out of earshot.

“So where’d that girl come from?”

“She’s a Horde soldier.”

“Wait, what?”

“ _Ex-_ Horde, Dad. She’s on our side now. She used that sword to...”

Adora was left to wade through the Bright Moon soldiers as they dispersed, looking for Glimmer. She found her soon enough, arguing with her father as they too went inside.

“... Now that we have She-Ra on our side-”

“Ah yes, the Horde soldier. Glimmer-”

“Ex-Horde.”

“Even so, you barely know the girl. We know nothing of what she’s capable of, only that she’s the new wielder of a sword so old most think it’s a myth. And besides, what are her motivations? What does _she_ want?”

“She wants to _fight,_ Dad! Adora wants to help us. She has helped us. We’d be stupid not to use this chance given to us. With her, we can reform the Princess Alliance-”

“We’re not talking about this again.”

“- face the Horde-”

“Glimmer, enough.”

“- and save-”

“I SAID ENOUGH!” King Micah shouted, stunning his daughter into silence. “I’M NOT ABOUT TO GET YOU KILLED! IT’S MY FAULT YOUR MOTHER IS GONE, AND I WON’T BE RESPONSIBLE FOR LOSING MY DAUGHTER!” His voice echoed a little in the otherwise empty room as he immediately looked as if he had said something he shouldn’t have. The look hardened as he said with a note of finality, “We’ll talk more in the morning. Go to bed, Glimmer.” He cast a final look at his daughter, then at Adora before striding out of the room.

Glimmer looked like she had seen a ghost. Her eyes were wide and unfocused as she stared, shocked. “Are you alright?” Adora asked. Glimmer responded hollowly, “He’s never talked about my mother’s death. Never gave me any details. He…” Her eyes filled with tears as she struggled not to cry. Adora hesitantly wrapped her arms around her as Glimmer put her face in her shoulder, a muffled sob escaping. “I just want to help. I don’t want the Horde to destroy our home.”

“Hey, hey, it’s alright,” Adora tried to comfort her. “They won’t, ok? We’re going to do everything we can to stop them. I’m She-Ra now. Magic powers and stuff.” She heard Glimmer chuckle. “We can do it. Together. I know we can.”

Glimmer pulled her face from Adora’s shoulder, sniffling. “Thanks,” she said. “And… sorry for that,” she said, gesturing to Adora’s disgusting shoulder. Yeah, she was definitely going to have to give that some serious cleaning. In fact, her armor was in desperate need of repairs as well. It had seen some rough times. “That’s ok.”

“I should probably show you to your bedroom.”

“Alright. Who am I bunking with?”

Glimmer looked at Adora quizzically. “It’s… your room. You don’t have to share, you get it to yourself.”

Adora blinked, surprised. It looks like Bright Moon was more different than she thought it would be. “Oh. Ok. I’m just not used to sleeping by myself.”

“Well, that’s just one more thing you get to enjoy about Bright Moon, I guess.” Glimmer said, some energy restored. She led Adora up several flights of stairs before coming upon a room. “Here you go,” Glimmer said. Adora opened the door to see her new room and was taken aback by how _excessive_ it seemed. “Pretty standard,” Glimmer explained. “You’ve got your vanity, bathroom, crystals, bell pull, tea nook, more crystals, bed, desk, and of course, the waterfall.” The girl pointed to each as she talked. This was _standard?_

“Is the waterfall for showering?” Adora asked. She wasn’t sure why it was there if not for that, but who used a _waterfall_ to shower?

“Ha, good one. That’d be more funny, but I’m ready to drop. I’m right down the hall if you need anything. Night.”

Adora was left to herself as she removed her filthy, damaged armor, leaving her in her Horde uniform. She set her sword down next to the rest of her stuff, taking a minute to think. To be honest, she was blown away. This was what a room looked like in the Rebellion? Back in the Horde, she was used to cramped barracks that crammed soldiers in like packs of sardines. Whatever she had been expecting, it certainly hadn’t been this.

“Okaayyy. This is… pretty different, but you’ve got this. Yeah. Totally. You’re Adora, Rebellion fighter. And also She-Ra. This will be a piece of cake,” Adora muttered to herself as she sat down upon the bed. It was so fluffy. Too fluffy. That much fluff had to be a war crime. She was proven right after she promptly sank several inches into the bed. She struggled to get out, but the bed was a tenacious foe. Her efforts proved fruitless as she lay there, squirming. She then resorted to punching the bed in an effort to make it flatter. She was met with disastrous results as the bed burst into a spray of feathers that flew everywhere. “Nonononono, go back in, please go back in,” Adora cried but it was no use. The bed had been slain.

This was bad. She had to go get Glimmer. She snuck out of her room into the dark hallway, trying to be quiet. “ _Glimmer? Glimmer? I think I killed the bed.”_ She stumbled past an open door and walked back as a light coming from inside caught her eye. She peered into the doorway and saw a colorful room with multicolored plants and a waterfall in the corner. King Micah was sitting in front of a mural of an angelic figure, magical light from his staff illuminating the area.

“Are you going to keep staring or do you have something to say?”

Adora realized that he had noticed her presence and started. “Oh, Sir! Er, Your Majesty! King Micah!” She snapped to attention but realized his back was still turned. She awkwardly lowered her hand back down to her side. “So, uh… What are you doing up?”

“I come sit here when I’ve had a difficult day. And I’ve had a pretty difficult day.” There was hostility in his voice, but not the kind that said _You’d better get lost before I make you_ typical of most Horde soldiers whenever Adora tried to make conversation _._ Adora took that as a chance to stay and talk with the King.

Her eyes went back to the figure on the wall as she went up to him. “Who is that?” she asked. There was a small sigh from King Micah, as if he figured she wasn’t going to just leave him alone, then he answered. “Queen Angella. My wife. She helped me build the Rebellion, way back in the beginning. I lost her on the Wailing Morn’, a battle I’m sure you heard of.” Adora had heard of the Wailing Morn’. A crushing defeat for the Rebellion, the last major battle before its split. Adora remembered the Horde soldiers had partied for a solid week, and her instructors even cut young Adora and her fellow cadets some slack when it came to their training. It had been a good memory for Adora at first. Now she realized how those on the other side of the battle likely felt.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“Adora.” King Micah finally stood up and turned to look at her. “Glimmer thinks that you can help the Rebellion. She vouched for you despite your background. Because I love my daughter more than anything, I haven’t thrown you in the deepest, darkest dungeon we have. _Yet._ I’m willing to give you a chance, Adora. One chance. If you do anything to hurt her, I’ll personally see to it that you never see the light of day again. In whatever way that entails.”

Despite this show of intimidation, Adora felt a spark of understanding for the King. She felt like she got where he was coming from, at least a little bit.

“You want to protect your family. I get that. I never knew my parents. My mother died when I was too young to remember, and I have no clue who my father was. The Horde was my family for the longest time. I thought what we were doing was good, or maybe I was too scared to believe otherwise. But then I realized they lied to me. They weren’t the protectors of the world I thought they were. They were destroyers who took what they wanted because they could.” Adora looked up at King Micah, who gazed at her, expression stoic.

“You don’t think restoring the Princess Alliance is a good idea, do you?” she asked.

He let out a long sigh and sat back down in front of the mural. “We tried fighting together once. It didn’t work out. I lost the love of my life, and now my daughter wants to run the risk of dying. Of getting other people killed.” Adora sat beside him as they shared a moment of silence together. Finally, she spoke.

“Glimmer saved my life today. Did you know that?”

He looked at her, surprised, as she continued. “I was trying to get this Force Captain to stop the attack on Thaymor, but they attacked me. I was unarmed, forced to use rubble as makeshift weapons. It was going pretty bad. She had a Spectre cast a spell on me, made it so that I couldn’t see. I was going to die there. I would have died, if not for Glimmer. She distracted Octavia and pulled me out of there. I was hurt pretty bad, but she patched me up with her magic. The point is, she’s stronger than you give her credit for. She really wants to do this. She’s ready to fight for her people. For her home. For you. But you need to give her a chance.”

King Micah pondered this as Adora kept talking, her tone becoming introspective.

“It can be easy staying with what you know because it’s familiar. Because it's safe. Trust me, I know. It’s harder to make a leap to stand up for what you know is right because you’re throwing all that safety away. It was _terrifying_ for me to leave the Horde. They had been my family for the past ten years. But I knew what they were doing was wrong. I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if I had stood by and let them conquer Etheria just because I was too scared to do something about it. So I took the leap. I want to help people, help the Rebellion. Your daughter wants to as well. You just have to have the courage to let her. Have to have the courage to believe that she is strong enough to defend others _and_ protect herself. You have to take the leap. _I_ did it. I know the King of Bright Moon can do it.”

King Micah stared at her for a long time, something new in his eyes that Adora realized was respect. Finally, he said, “You are... someone very special, Adora. It appears that I misjudged you.” Adora smiled at him. That was definitely a step up from death threats. “You have a desire to help people. Right wrongs. I can respect that. But that can’t be all. What do you _want_ , Adora? For yourself?”

Adora was quiet for a moment. She knew. Of course she knew. Even after everything, there would always be that voice in her head. Repeating the same thing over and over as it had since the day at the orphanage. _Catra. Catra. Catra._ She spoke up at last in a small voice, “I have a friend who was… given… to the Guild of Shadows. I haven’t seen her in years. I don’t even know if she’s alive. But I want to find her. I want to get her out like I got out. Even if she hates me now, I don’t want her to be trapped there. I would never wish that on her.”

King Micah nodded. “I’ll have to think about this. Thank you, Adora. This was… an eye-opening conversation.” He stepped out of the room, leaving Adora alone. She looked up at the mural of Queen Angella. 

“I won’t let anything happen to them, Ma’am. I promise,” she whispered. She was glad that she had seemingly made progress with Micah. That was good.

Now she just had to figure out where she was going to sleep. She decided she’d just spend the night in Glimmer’s room. It probably wasn’t a big deal. She wandered the hall for a bit until she found a door that _screamed_ Glimmer. She opened the door to her room, made her way inside, and crawled into bed with the other girl. Nothing major.

Well, apparently it _was_ major, because the next morning she awoke to Glimmer screaming at the sight of her in her bed.

“Wait, she _what?_ You _what?”_ Bow asked as they sat together in the massive dining hall for breakfast later that morning. Adora was trying not to turn red as Glimmer recounted the story of Adora’s questionable decision-making skills.

“I’m sorry, Glimmer. It’s just- I’ve never slept without other people before. I didn’t mean to freak you out.” Adora was kicking herself. Her first night and she already had one major screwup under her belt. Was she going to get punished for this?

“Hey, it’s ok Adora. You just… surprised me, that’s all. Nothing to freak out over.” Adora was gladdened to see that the look on Glimmer’s face seemed genuine. _Right,_ she thought. _This isn’t the Horde. I’m not going to be reprimanded for the slightest mistake here._ She had to keep reminding herself she was in a better place now.

“If you want to, maybe we could have a Best Friend Squad sleepover tonight! To make you feel more at home here,” Bow offered through a mouth full of his breakfast. Adora smiled at the idea.

“Thanks, Bow. That sounds really nice.”

“ _After_ Adora gets a new bed for her room. Apparently she obliterated it last night.” Adora’s face went right back to the previous bright red at Glimmer’s statement. “That was an accident…”

She was saved from further embarrassment as a messenger came into the dining hall and told them that King Micah requested their presence. They put down the remains of their breakfast, except Adora who was hurriedly scarfing the last of hers down, and followed the messenger to the throne room. It was a spacious area with plenty of natural light pouring in. The walls were decorated with golden, flowing patterns, and the tall throne at the end of the room was no less grand. There was another throne next to where King Micah sat that looked long empty, but that did not diminish the regal presence King Micah radiated as they entered. George and Lance stood beside him, arms crossed.

“You asked to see us, Dad?” Glimmer asked, curious as to why they were called.

“Yes. I’ve been thinking after the events of yesterday about our current tactics and the future of Bright Moon. We’ve been playing a defensive battle for the past 7 years in the hopes that we could keep the Horde away. But they are determined to see Bright Moon fall. At one time, we would have had allies to help us, but since the Wailing Morn’ we have been alone. 

“You have always been passionate about restoring the Princess Alliance, Glimmer. You never stopped trying to fight for what you believed in. In the past, I refused you because I was scared that you could get yourself or others hurt. I thought you were too young and inexperienced to handle yourself. But recent events, and certain conversations-” He glanced at Adora as he said this. “- have opened my eyes. I have failed you, Glimmer. I have failed to believe in you, to trust that you were strong enough to defend others and protect yourself. For that I am truly sorry. But no longer. You’re not the little girl I tried to keep pretending you were any more. You’re so much more than that. You’re a promising sorceress with worthy allies by your side, and I am so proud of you. I have discussed this with my advisors-” George and Lance nodded as he said this. They didn’t look exactly pleased, but they seemed willing to go along with whatever the King had decided. “- and we agree that the time of fighting alone is done. It’s time to rebuild the Princess Alliance. It’s time for _you_ and your friends to rebuild the Princess Alliance.”

Glimmer’s eyes went so wide Adora was almost afraid they’d pop out of her head. She sputtered as she tried to wrap her mind around the events that just transpired. “What- Dad- I- You-” She gave up trying to speak, instead rushing up to her father and throwing her arms around him. “Thank you!” Bow and Adora shared a smile as they saw their overjoyed friend. This was incredible news. The King returned the embrace as his daughter continued to hug him, whispering _thank you_ over and over. “I believe in you three. I believe that you can succeed where my generation failed. With you, Bow, and Adora as She-Ra, I know you can do it.”

“We won’t let you down, Dad,” Glimmer promised, smiling.

“It won’t be a walk in the park,” George warned.

“It’ll be pretty dangerous a lot of the time!” Lance agreed.

“But we’ll be just fine,” Bow said with confidence. “We’re the Best Friend Squad.”

“Well, does _Bow of the Best Friend Squad_ want to learn a thing or two from his old dads before he goes gallivanting off into the sunset?’” George asked, a slight teasing edge to his voice. “We old guard still have a trick or two up our sleeves that you might be able to use in the field.”

Bow’s eyes lit up. “Really? That would be great! Thanks, dads,” he said as he dragged George and Lance into a group hug of their own. “Again, I’m really sorry for taking your bow earlier, George.” George just smiled at his son with fond eyes. “Don’t be. I’m proud that my son is using my bow. I want you to take it. You’re going to be needing it soon enough.” Bow’s eyes filled with tears as he embraced his fathers even tighter. “I’ll make you two proud,” he said resolutely. “You already have, son,” Lance said. “Just _be careful_ when you’re out there.”

Adora smiled at the warm sight. Children and parents had made up, and there was new hope for the Rebellion. Things were looking up.

“Adora, I saw the state of your armor last night, so I had some new equipment sent up to your room. Can’t have the She-Ra walking around in chain mail two seconds from falling apart,” King Micah said. “A new bed was sent up as well. One that is better suited to your preferences this time, I hope,” he added with a wry grin. Adora groaned inwardly. How many people knew about that? Still, the new equipment was a nice gesture. It would definitely make things easier.

“Glimmer, would you be so kind as to help her find some new clothes? Probably best if she wasn’t walking around the castle in a Horde uniform.” King Micah requested. Adora just noticed that she was still wearing her uniform from the previous night. It had slipped her mind after the events of yesterday, and it wasn’t exactly like she had a change of clothes to wear. It appeared Glimmer had only just noticed then as well because she let out a loud gasp. “Oh no! I am _so sorry,_ I didn’t think about that at all! Come with me, I’ll get you some new clothes right away.” She suddenly had Adora’s hand and was dragging her out of the throne room.

That was how Adora spent the next part of her day figuring out what clothes to wear. Glimmer had presented her with a variety of options, and she took some time looking them over when something caught her eye. “What about… that, that, and those, and this?” she asked, pointing to the various pieces. Glimmer looked to where she was pointing and nodded, deep in thought. “Yeah, that could work. Go try them on.” Later, when Adora emerged from the dressing room, she was wearing a red leather jacket, a white long sleeve shirt, gray pants, and red and white combat boots. Glimmer nodded appreciatively, giving Adora a thumbs up. “Nice pick, Adora. It looks pretty good.”

Adora paused for a moment, examining herself in the mirror. This outfit was like it had been _made_ for her. “Could I get, like, fifteen sets of just _this?_ I like this a lot.”

Glimmer looked aghast at the suggestion. “You want to have _one_ outfit and one outfit _only?_ Where’s your sense of style, Adora?”

“I don’t know Glimmer, it just feels _right,”_ Adora defended.

Glimmer looked at her as if she had three heads. At last, she reluctantly conceded. “... _Fine._ I’ll see what I can do.”

Adora threw her fist into the air. “Yes! Thanks, Glimmer.”

“I don't even know how to feel right now,” Glimmer said almost dejectedly.

“Well, your dad is giving us the go-ahead for restoring the Princess Alliance, so I think you should feel pretty good right about now.”

“I wonder what changed. He was so mad last night, he even said that stuff about my mom. And now, he just said that he’d let me go through with it. I wonder what changed.”

“Well, I _did_ kinda run into him when I was looking for your room, and we ended up talking a bit.”

“Wait, really? What did you say to him?”

“Just stuff about how well you handled yourself in Thaymor, and I said he should take a leap and have faith in you to be alright. Something got through to him, I guess.”

“Aw, Adora. You did that for me?”

Adora turned to her and smiled. “Isn’t that what friends are for?”

Glimmer smiled in return before saying, “Yeah. Although not every friend has a cool sword and magic powers, so you’re an extra special friend.” Adora’s eyes widened a bit as she remembered the sword and Grayskull. This would be a perfect time to tell Glimmer.

“So about the sword...”

“Yeah?”

“I got my powers because when I touched the sword, there was this guy who talked to me. He offered me powers in return for my services, and I accepted at Thaymor.”

“Huh. So you’re like a warlock? I’ve heard stories of warlocks. They make pacts with these really powerful entities in exchange for power.”

“Yeah, that’s right. He _did_ call me a warlock.” Adora confirmed, remembering.

“What was he like? What’s his name? Is he creepy?”

“His name is Grayskull. He’s… a bit weird? I can’t really figure him out. I don’t _think_ he’s bad, at least. He helped us out back with the spiders.”

Glimmer took a moment to take all that information in. “Alright then. Well, even if he is bad, then we’ll just kick his butt. No worries. I guess that explains why you were talking to no one back in Thaymor. That was really freaky. I thought I’d gotten there too late and you’d lost it from the pain or something. Glad you’re not crazy.”

Adora chuckled. “Yeah, me too.”

“Hey, c’mon. Let me give you an official tour of the place, now that things aren’t super hectic. I want to show you how cool Bright Moon is.”

They spent the next few hours wandering the castle as Glimmer showed her around. It turned out the Bright Moon Castle was _huge,_ so it took quite a while for Glimmer to show Adora everything. They even found George and Lance in the yard attempting to teach Bow some of their “tricks,” which apparently meant how to augment his arrows with magic. They watched as he shot an arrow that hit a target and promptly burst into brambles that feebly reached around before crumbling into ash. “Aw,” Bow said, disappointed, but his fathers were quick to reassure him. “Hey, that was pretty good for someone who just started learning today,” George said. “Keep practicing and soon it’ll be second nature for you,” Lance added. They caught sight of Adora and Glimmer and waved them over. “Hello, She-Ra. Princess. What are you two up to?”

“I’m giving Adora the tour of the castle,” Glimmer answered.

George looked at Adora before extending his hand. “We met under... less than ideal circumstances, so I’d like to properly introduce myself. I’m George, Bow’s father.” Adora took his hand and shook it. “I’m Adora.”

“Bow’s told Lance and me a lot about what you did in the woods and at Thaymor. My son is an excellent judge of character, if I do say so myself. If he trusts you, then you must be someone worthy of it. I apologize for before.”

Adora smiled, a little embarrassed. “Thank you, sir, and it’s fine. I would have been suspicious of me too. I want to show that I’m worthy of that trust.”

“Just make sure he’s safe out there, all right?” Lance requested. “Dad! I’m not a little kid,” Bow complained, but his father was persistent. “War’s a nasty business, and I would hate to see any of you get hurt.” Adora could see both Lance and George’s faces darken a bit at the mention of the current conflict.

Adora nodded firmly. “I promise I won’t let you down, sir. Sirs.”

“So, what are you two doing out here with Bow?” Glimmer asked, curious.

“They’re teaching me _magic_!” Bow exclaimed. Adora swore she could see stars in the half elf boy’s eyes.

“Well, sort of. It’s a blend of my specialty and Lance’s,” George explained. “Magically-enhanced archery. He’ll have extra ways of taking foes down with this.”

“We’re teaching him the basics right now, but there’s plenty more to learn,” Lance continued. “Who knows, maybe he’ll even create his own kind of arcane shots? Magic’s fun like that. There’s always new ways to use it.”

“That sounds amazing,” Adora admitted. Now that she was on the side of magic, she could stand to learn a thing or two about it. It looks like that wouldn’t be much of a problem, with people like Bow’s fathers in Bright Moon.

“Hey Glimmer, have you shown Adora the tower yet?”

“I was saving the best for last, Bow.”

Adora was intrigued. “What’s the tower?”

“It’s the spot with the best view in Bright Moon. Come on, it’s almost dinner time. I’ll take you there now.”

“Can I go with them?” Bow asked, turning to his fathers. “I want to see her reaction.”

“I think that’s enough training for one day,” George said. Lance nodded in agreement.

Bow walked up to Adora and Glimmer, and the trio went up to the tower. After a long flight of stairs, they made it to the top. As Adora saw the view in front of her, she gasped. The sun was setting, and just like the day before it sent a burst of color through the evening sky. She could see for quite a distance. She saw the Whispering Woods surrounding the castle, spreading for miles. She remembered the lady who had saved her life, Madame Razz, waiting for her in the woods. _So much for the swordless destiny,_ Adora thought to herself. _Well, if she was right about that, then I guess I’ll have to go back and talk to her one day._ But for now, she would take in the view. “It’s beautiful,” she whispered, amazed. “Told you you’d like it,” Glimmer said, even though she had said no such thing. “Now come on, it’s time for dinner.”

Adora paused for a second before asking, “Uh, can I stay up here just for a bit longer? It’s just… this place is so peaceful. I haven’t had a peaceful moment in a long time.”

“Of course. Just don’t stay up here for too long, or you’ll miss dinner,” Glimmer said. Bow and her started back down the stairs, and Adora caught a bit of their conversation.

“Did you see her face?”

“Priceless. I knew she was going to love it here!”

“It was so _adorable._ ”

“Don’t you mean, Adora-ble?”

“Please don’t. I have to deal with enough puns from my dads…”

Adora smiled to herself as she appreciated the view. Glimmer was right. She _did_ love it here. It was the complete opposite of the Fright Zone, a place full of fear and anger and filth. This place was peaceful, beautiful, _kind._ It was a place of hope and love. Adora felt at home here. Her eyes wandered to a part of the castle where on a spire stood a massive floating opalescent gem. It glowed a blue-white color as it hovered there. Adora had never seen anything like it.

“It’s beautiful, huh?”

Adora turned as she saw a dark-skinned half elf woman with white hair walk up to her. She wore silver and blue armor, and she carried a sword at her side. “I come up here all the time for the view. And to look at that thing. It’s pretty awesome.”

The woman looked at her inquisitively. “You’re new here. Are you that ex-Horde soldier the whole castle keeps talking about? The girl who found that old sword?”

“Uh, yeah, that’s me. I’m Adora.” She offered her hand. The woman took it in a firm grip and shook it. “Netossa.”

“So, that thing over there…”

“Yeah the Moonstone. It’s pretty crazy, right? Super powerful artifact, but sometimes you forget where it came from. I mean, it’s hard to believe sometimes that you’re this close to a _freaking shard of a World Gate._ Gives me goosebumps. _”_

“A what?”

Netossa snorted, and looked to see that Adora was looking at her extremely confused. Her expression became one of disbelief and concern.

“Uhh... the World Gates? Shapers of the world and all its planes? Most powerful sources of magic ever, in fact the _original sources of magic?”_

The confused look continued. Netossa’s expression dropped. “Did the Horde really tell you _nothing_ about this? You’ve never heard of any of that?”

“Hordak seemed to think that if something wasn’t relevant to combat, it wasn’t worth teaching.” Adora muttered angrily. How much did she _not_ know?

Netossa put her face in her hands. “Ohhhh, I’m really gonna have to explain this to you. I wish Spinny were here, she’s so much better at this stuff.”

“Spinny?”

“My wife. Please tell me you know what a wife is.”

“Pffft, of _course_ I know what that is! Yeah, a wife! I definitely know- _I have no idea what that is.”_

Netossa facepalmed and let out a loud groan. “Alright, that comes later. Story time first.” Adora leaned forward expectantly as the other woman began explaining the secrets of the world.

“Ok, the World Gates were like the first things. Ever. They just kinda floated around in the nothingness, and one day- boom. They opened up and magic came out. There were six at first, the Greater Gates, and each one had power over a different domain. The first domains were mostly about the necessities of the world and life and stuff. So they did their thing, and the world was created. You got the Material Plane, Etheria, which is where we are now. You got the Feywild and the Shadowfell, which are like, different reflections of the Material Plane, I guess? Something like that. You got the Elemental Chaos, a jumbled mess where the elements of fire, water, earth, and air mix. Then you got the Lower Plane, Despondos, and the Upper Plane, Eternia. Finally, there’s the Astral and Ethereal Planes. They just kinda exist in between everything. After the world got made, then the monsters and intelligent races came around. Some new Gates got created, the Lesser Gates, that came from the ideals and habits of the intelligent races. You still with me? The Gates are in Eternia, where the celestials are. They’re like the guardians of the Gates, they don’t come down here much anymore.”

“Did they used to?”

“That’s what stories say, but there was this thing called the Great Silence. Before, apparently the Gates gave people powers and stuff pretty frequently in the past. Those blessed by the Gates were called Clerics and Paladins. That’s what me and Spinny are, actually. She’s a Cleric and I’m a Paladin.”

“I thought you said they didn’t do that anymore.”

“They don’t do it anymore _often,”_ Netossa corrected. “People like us, who get magic straight from the Gates, are super rare nowadays. A long time ago, something changed. No one knows what happened or why, but the Gates stopped interacting with the planes almost entirely. Fragments of the Gates fell to Etheria, and we call them runestones. If you tap into them, there’s still a lot of powerful magic inside. As for the celestials, they all went back to Eternia. They almost never come down here now. We’re on our own. Have been for a thousand years.”

“Huh.” Adora wasn’t sure what else to say.

Netossa chuckled. “Huh indeed. Tell you what, this is _not_ how I expected my evening to go, giving a history lesson to an ex-Horde soldier.”

“Well, thanks anyway,” Adora said gratefully. This was all completely new information to her. Even in the orphanage, their caretakers weren’t very concerned with their wards having the most up to date education.

“Yeah, don’t mention it. I hear you’re supposed to save us all or something. You’re _She-Ra, the Princess of Power_.”

“Yup, that’s me. Apparently.”

“Well, good luck with that. We’ve been fighting this war for a long time. It’d be nice if it stopped sometime soon. You’d best be getting on that.”

“Right,” Adora said, uncomfortable. She decided to change the subject. “So what do you do here?”

“I’m George’s right hand woman, leading Bright Moon’s armies. My wife, Spinerella, is a Tempest Cleric. That means she’s good with wind and storms and stuff, as well as the usual Cleric stuff. Healing and all that. We go on missions sometimes, but mostly the two of us usually stay here to guard the castle and protect the King. We’re basically like the elite guard.”

“Oh, alright. Thanks again for telling me all this. It was nice to meet you.” Once again, Adora was frustrated by how little the Horde had told her about Etheria and its history.

“Yeah, you too. And I couldn’t just let you walk around without knowing basic history. I would have lost respect for myself as a person.”

Adora laughed. She liked this woman.

“Wait, what time is it? Oh no! We’re late for dinner!” Netossa cried. Her slightly panicked face took on a more competitive edge as she smirked. “Race you?”

Adora grinned. “You’re on.”

The two ladies raced down the stairs of the tower, eventually barreling into the dining hall with a loud bang as the doors were thrust open. They were stared at by everyone eating as they tried to figure out who had won.

“Sucks for you, Adora, I made it in first.”

“Are you kidding? Anyone with eyes could see that I was first in.”

“Oh really? You mean anyone with eyes could see that _I_ was first in.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Bow! Glimmer! Which one of us won?”

Glimmer shouted from across the hallway. “The _both_ you need to stop causing a scene after you _both_ came charging into the dining hall like a pair of maniacs!”

Netossa and Adora shot a friendly glare at each other.

“Call it a draw?”

“Whatever makes you sleep better.”

“Ha! You wish.”

The two clasped arms and went their separate ways. Adora made her way over to where Bow and Glimmer sat as she saw Netossa go over to a woman she assumed was her “wife.” They looked happy together, with the other woman immediately teasing Netossa for her and Adora’s dramatic entrance. Netossa took it all in stride, smiling as she tried to convince her of her victory.

“So, it looks like you met Netossa,” Bow said as they ate. “Seems you two get along pretty well.”

“Well, can you get along a bit less next time?” Glimmer asked. “I’d rather _that_ not become a regular thing.” She only seemed just a little peeved, thankfully.

“Sorry, Glimmer,” Adora apologized. “It looks like the both of us are a bit competitive.”

“You don’t say,” Glimmer deadpanned. Still, she relented. “How was the view?”

“It was really nice,” Adora admitted. “I saw the Moonstone, and Netossa came over and had to explain what it was. In fact, she also kinda dumped the entire lore of the world on me, since I was never taught about any of it in the Horde. Very informative.”

“You didn’t know about the Gates or anything in the Horde?” Bow gasped. “That’s a crime in itself!”

“Wow, I’m sorry, Adora. I didn’t know,” Glimmer said. Adora was quick to respond. “Hey, you don’t have to apologize for anything, ok Glimmer? It’s the Horde fault. They took me and a bunch of other kids and trained us to be mindless killers. But we’re going to make them pay. We’re going to stop them. Together.”

“Best Friend Squad,” Bow whispered excitedly.

“Yeah. Best Friend Squad,” Adora reaffirmed.

Bow grinned and put his hand out in front of him. Glimmer did the same. They looked to Adora, who realized she was supposed to do it, too. She put her hand in as Glimmer counted “One, two, three…” Glimmer and Bow threw up their hands, taking Adora’s with them, and cried, “Best Friend Squad!” with Adora echoing slightly late. They made less of a scene this time because most had already left the hall. The three of them laughed together, and not for the first time Adora realized how lucky she was to be there. She was in a good place, with friends, and together, they would restore the Princess Alliance. Together, they would defeat the Evil Horde. Together, they would save the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All right, next chapter SHOULD be the Best Friend Squad going on their first quest to recruit Princess Perfuma! But who knows? The chapter never goes how I think it will go. I can definitely say that you'll be seeing more of Catra in the near future, though. Gotta get to that romance eventually. See you next time!
> 
> Also, I came up with the whole World Gates thing when I realized putting a pantheon of gods in a She-Ra AU wasn't the best idea. So we have this instead now. I'm pretty happy with it to be honest.
> 
> SPELL LIST  
> "King Micah was sitting in front of a mural of an angelic figure, magical light from his staff illuminating the area." King Micah used Light


	6. The Guild of Shadows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora receives some gifts and information. Catra returns home and gets a new mission. Shadow Weaver still sucks. The Best Friend Squad set out on their first mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're back, now with more Catra! This chapter's mostly just talking and some exposition, but we'll have some more action soon enough.

Adora stood in the infinite darkness, alone. How had she gotten there? After a few moments, Adora realized she couldn’t remember. “Hello?” she called out into the abyss, her voice echoing before eventually fading.

“Hello, Adora,” Grayskull said as he appeared before her in a swirl of obsidian shards.

“What is this place?” Adora asked.

“A dream. Your dream, to be more specific. We’re in your subconscious right now.”

“Oh,” Adora said, the only thing she could think of saying. “Did you want to talk about something?” Why else would he be in her mind if not to talk?

“As a matter of fact, I did,” Grayskull replied. “Firstly, I wanted to compliment you on your work in Thaymor. A job well done. What an _exciting_ beginning to a lasting partnership. The two of us will do incredible things together, I know it.”

“So when do we start?”

Grayskull cocked his head to one side. “Pardon?”

“Your side of the deal. You wanted me to remake the world, right? How do I do that?”

Grayskull threw back his head and let out a hearty laugh. “Well, I’m pleased to see that you’re eager, but that comes later down the road. If I tried to enact my plans for you this early, you’d… break. And I’d _hate_ to break my first warlock in a thousand years. Just be patient for now. I’ll call for you one day.”

“Uh… ok,” Adora said, a small bit unsettled. Scratch that, more than a small bit. “So what do I do until then?”

“That was the other thing I wanted to discuss with you. As I have said, you’re not ready for what I have planned. You’re not strong enough just yet. Right now, I want you to go with your friends on your little adventure. Train. Become more powerful. Soon enough, you will be ready. But what you are ready for is your next step in your journey as my warlock. It’s not all about spells, you know, though I will be able to teach you new ones when you become able to use them. There’s other _perks_ to being a warlock. Small benefits I’m able to grant you that will aid you in your quest.”

“That sounds helpful,” Adora admitted.

“It _is_ helpful. I can start you off with two,” Grayskull said as he held up two fingers of his gauntleted hand. “Now I ask, Adora, what assistance can I grant you?”

Adora pondered. It didn’t help that Grayskull was being so ridiculously _broad_ right now, so her mind wandered. She thought back to Thaymor, and what that Spectre had done to her. How they had made her blind to her surroundings, despite her enhanced vision. How they had left her defenseless to Octavia’s thunderous blows.

“In Thaymor, there was this Spectre who cast a spell on me. It made everything around me go dark, and I couldn’t see at all. Any chance you could do something about that?” Adora asked.

Grayskull thought for a moment, then nodded. “Easy enough. It is done.”

He snapped his fingers and Adora felt a strange tingling sensation in her eyes. It faded in an instant, but Adora felt like her vision was heightened compared to before. Suddenly the inky blackness around her didn’t seem so dark.

“Anything else?” Grayskull asked.

Adora’s mind wandered once again. She thought back to Glimmer and Bow, who were so confident in her. She thought of King Micah, George, Lance, and Netossa, who saw her as some kind of great savior. _She-Ra, Princess of Power,_ they called her. Apparently she was a hero. She didn’t feel like a hero. A part of her felt like she had somehow duped them all, like she wasn’t really worthy of being She-Ra. She didn’t even look the part. She was just a scared girl with chain mail and a magic sword, but she desperately wanted to make sure her new friends weren’t disappointed in her. _Wait a minute._

“What did the previous She-Ra look like? There was one before me, right?”

Grayskull’s voice darkened. Adora couldn’t see his face under his helmet, but she wagered a guess that he was glowering. “Yes. There was one before you, another child of celestials. Mara, her name was. She looked like every other shiny hero, I suppose.” 

Another swirl of obsidian appeared, and there was a still image of Grayskull’s previous warlock. She was a tall woman with long, flowing hair and gold and white armor. Grayskull had neglected to fill in the details of her face, so Adora was left to wonder what she had looked like. She was, however, interested in how Mara looked as She-Ra. Now _this_ was someone who looked like a hero.

“Could you make me look like her?”

“I could give you the ability to do that, yes. But Adora?”

“Yeah?”

“I will allow you that one time. Never mention Mara in front of me again.” Grayskull’s tone was as cold as ice, a stark contrast from usual.

Adora was taken aback. “Why?” she ventured. What had happened between the two?

“She was a traitor. I trusted her, and she ruined _everything._ She was weak. Misguided. She couldn’t do what needed to be done, and so the world suffered for it. It has been suffering for her mistakes for the past thousand years. _”_

An horrible thought stirred in Adora’s mind as pieces clicked together. “Did she… cause the Great Silence?” she asked, fearing she already knew the answer.

Grayskull was silent for some time. “Yes,” he finally murmured. “I was so close. Everything I had worked for, right there in front of me, and in one fell swoop she destroyed it all. All I had done, for nothing. I was left alone again.”

Adora put her hand on his shoulder, and he gave a small start. “I won’t be like her. You can count on me. Together, we’ll fix the world that Mara broke.”

Grayskull looked at her. “Thank you, Adora. I know you will. Now, about what you requested.” He snapped his fingers again, and Adora felt a new power flutter up inside her. Maybe with this, she could be a better She-Ra. 

“Now, how about a new spell since you’ll be waking up soon. I have an idea for one that could be quite useful to you...”

\-------------------------

Catra peered up at the ominous stone towers of the Guild of Shadows temple and let out a small sigh. She was home. Huzzah. Now she could get chewed out by Shadow Weaver for things that were completely out of her control. At least her injuries had mostly healed up, but that was small consolation in face of the trouble to come and the troubles that had already occurred. She had seen Adora, _her_ Adora, for the first time in ten years. Catra had almost fallen off of that roof when she realized who was shouting for Octavia to call off the attack. She had laughed to herself when Adora talked as if she were just figuring out what kind of people the Horde were. _Oh, Adora. Even after all these years, you’ve still got a skull thicker than a tarrasque carapace._

She hadn’t laughed, though, when Adora suddenly came out of the rubble with a magic sword and started beating the living daylights out of Octavia. Of course, she was too busy fighting Arrow Boy and Sparkles to keep too close of an eye on their fight, but she could tell Adora was going to wipe the floor with the Force Captain. She had to shove down her impressed feelings as she watched Adora freeze Octavia’s hands with magic while simultaneously chucking one of Arrow Boy’s arrows back at him. 

It was frustrating because she shouldn’t be feeling anything but anger for this girl. She had _left_ her, and then decided she didn’t care about Catra anymore. Ten years and not a peep from Miss Super Star Adora, who Shadow Weaver never shut up about. She obviously hadn’t cared about their friendship after going with the Horde, because she would have tried to reach out at some point. Or she could have even joined the Guild of Shadows. It wasn’t like Shadow Weaver wasn’t giving this girl invitations every six seconds. Well, it looks like Adora had finally realized that the Horde weren’t the shining saviors of Etheria she had apparently though they were.

Catra went straight to her room, where she promptly dumped her stuff on her bunk and collapsed. What an awful experience the last few days had been. And it wasn’t even over yet. Shadow Weaver would probably call her to her chambers to scream at her any second now. She never got a moment’s rest around here.

And she wouldn’t get a moment’s rest, but not for the reason she initially thought. Catra’s door burst open and a huge figure strode through, immediately going for Catra and picking her up in a massive, rib-cracking hug.

“Catra! You’re back! Oh, man, Entrapta and I missed you _so much._ Nobody else here is as nice as you!”

“Shut up, Scorpia, I’m _not_ nice. And put me down already before you crush my ribcage!”

Catra was put down, and she got a good look at her assailant. Scorpia was a huge woman with white hair in an undercut, giant claws that were red just like the rest of her carapace, and a stinger that waved lazily back and forth from behind her as she tried to refrain from crushing Catra to death. As always, the girl had her trademark big smile that seemed to be permanently plastered onto her face. She was the most positive person Catra knew, and one of the only two people she _might_ consider calling her friend.

“Sorry, sorry. You know I’m a hugger. Anyway, yeah, I’m so glad you’re back. You know how Entrapta is, it’s hard making sure she doesn’t blow herself up or anything when you’ve just got one pair of eyes. She’s super happy to see you, too.”

“I am?” A girl with purple pigtails that ran all the way to her feet poke her head in the door. “Oh yeah, I am! It’s nice to see you again, Catra. Glad you’re not dead! I calculated the odds of survival on your first mission and they were… well, you didn’t perish and that’s what matters.”

“Wow, thanks.” Catra said drily. “Glad to see you in one piece too, I guess. How’s the, uh, research going?” Catra immediately regretted asking as she knew she had just signed herself up for an hours-long explanation of Entrapta’s work.

“I’m so glad you asked! You see…” Just as Catra feared, Entrapta launched into a long-winded explanation of her progress in the ruins underneath the temple. Her steel defender, Emily, stood by her side like always as Entrapta animatedly explained her recent experiences.

Some time ago, it had been discovered that the Guild of Shadows temple had been built upon a massive network of underground ruins. An artificer from the Horde, Entrapta, had been sent to research them in an attempt to discover any information that could help the war effort. She had been escorted by a Force Captain, a scorpionfolk woman aptly named Scorpia.

Catra had been the one instructed by Shadow Weaver to greet them at the temple’s entrance and show them around as a sign of good faith. She had been immediately pulled into a crushing hug by the scorpionfolk, who had cried, “Ooh, kitty! Just want to let you know now, I’m a hugger.”

“I can see that,” Catra choked out. “Now let me go!”

The woman loosened her grip and Catra scrambled out of the hug. She was then immediately met with a purple-haired girl wearing a strange mask right in her face. “Fascinating,” she said as Catra yelped in surprise. “Hey, what the-” Catra cried, but the artificer was enraptured. “I’ve never seen a tabaxi before. They’ve almost gone extinct. To think, I’ve found a live sample in this temple, as well as a First Ones’ ruin! Will you allow me to run some tests on you later? Oh, I’m definitely going to have to get some samples as well!”

“Get away from me!” Catra turned and ran face-first into Shadow Weaver.

“Catra,” she hissed. “You’d better play nice with our guests, or else.”

“You _cannot_ put me with these people. They’re crazy!” Catra pleaded.

“You think you can tell _me_ what to do? Insolent child, I can and I will. We could use one of our own down there keeping an eye on them. And I think I have just the person,” Shadow Weaver drawled. Catra felt her heart sink as Shadow Weaver said, “You will accompany the artificer and her escort as she performs her... research. You will remain with them until it is concluded and they return to the Fright Zone. If I hear any complaints, then there will be consequences.”

Catra dropped her head in defeat. “Yes, Shadow Weaver,” she said numbly.

That was how she got stuck with accompanying the two weirdest people she had ever met on their exploits into the ruins below the temple. Though they had indeed gotten off to a rocky start, Catra had warmed up to the pair. They were… nice, even if they both had their eccentricities. Scorpia was a bundle of sunshine and happiness 24/10, and even if Catra would never admit it, she appreciated her lightheartedness. It made living in the temple almost bearable. Entrapta was strange, but she really did care, even if she had bizarre ways of showing it.

If Catra was honest with herself, they were the only reason she had lasted this long. She had held out for years on the belief that Adora would come rescue her. Then, when she finally realized she wouldn’t, that hope turned into a bundle of white-hot rage. That got her through the next couple years, but she would have burned out eventually, as much as she hated to admit it. Scorpia and Entrapta showed her she didn’t have to live for hatred and hatred alone. The rage remained there inside her, but it didn’t consume her like it once did. She could live without Adora. She didn’t need her. Not at all.

“... and that’s about it! Anyways, how did your mission go? Not well, apparently, because you’re acting even more sullen than usual and you appear to have been wounded.” Entrapta remarked offhandedly. Scorpia shot up in alarm, seemingly just realizing the state her friend was in. “Wait, what? What happened to you? Are you ok? Do you need medical attention? Oh man, I wish I could have been there. Who did this to you? If I ever see them, I’ll… I’ll…” she snapped her pincers together repeatedly, a rare display of anger in the usually cheerful woman.

“Scorpia, chill. I’m fine, alright? Just got shot a couple times, that’s all.”

Scorpia was aghast. “ _That’s all?_ You got hurt! You got _shot_ with arrows! Multiple times, as it seems! What if you’d died? We never would have seen you again. How are we supposed to feel about that?”

“I didn’t ask you to feel anything,” Catra muttered, her familiar anger flaring up. It was practically second nature by now, lashing out like that without so much as a second thought. 

Scorpia’s eyes narrowed. “We’re your friends, Wildcat. We’re gonna worry about you whether you like it or not.”

“Yeah!” Entrapta agreed heartily. “Where else would I find a tabaxi to study?” That comment earned her a glare from Scorpia.

“But also because we’re friends and everything, and you dying would be… not good,” Entrapta added quietly, looking sheepish.

Catra rolled her eyes but was pulled into another hug by Scorpia, a softer one this time.

“We just want you to be ok, alright? But you have to want to be ok too. I know you’ve got a lot of… anger and stuff inside, but please don’t take it out on you. You’ve got to take care of yourself, and if us sticking around to make sure you do that is what has to be done, then you know we’ll be here all the way.”

The tabaxi girl finally surrendered to her friend’s protective side. There was no way that she was getting away from her now that Scorpia was worked up this way. Still, not like she _completely_ hated it. “Fine, alright,” she grumbled and Scorpia’s stupid smile came right back, but was quickly replaced by a slight frown of concern. “So, uh, _do_ you need medical attention? Because I can go get that if that’s what you need right now.”

“I’m fine, Scorpia, really. Mostly healed up by now, just a little sore.”

“Oh, ok, ok. Well, if you do need anything, just let me-”

“ _Scorpia!”_

“Alright, alright. Sorry, Wildcat. Like I said. I worry.”

“I can always provide medical aid if you so choose!” Entrapta offered.

Catra shuddered at the thought. “Please, Gates, no. Entrapta, never _ever_ give me medical aid.”

“Duly noted!” The girl went back to scribbling notes in the tattered book she held in her hands, comically overstuffed with notes. “Imp came by a while back, you know, so I got to talk with Hordak for a bit. We haven’t compared notes in a while, so it was a pleasant experience! He seemed pretty angry, though. Kept shouting about some girl who apparently defected. That’s why he came- to get Shadow Weaver’s help to retrieve her.”

“Yeah. You should have seen him, Wildcat. Even though he was talking through Imp, you could tell he was _livid._ Whoever this girl was- I think she might have been a Force Captain? That sucks, I never got to meet her- Hordak’s freaking out about her gone.”

Catra froze, her pupils narrowing into slits. Scorpia, noticing this, asked, “Hey, you all right?”

“Yeah,” she lied. Just when she was starting to feel _slightly_ better, Adora had to come in and wreck things. “I just… I saw her in Thaymor. I was there when she defected. It was pretty hectic.”

“Your reactions tell me that there’s more to the story than that. Did something happen between you and her? Did you two do battle?” Entrapta gasped. “Or maybe… you know her from somewhere else? Oooh, finally some light will be shed on Catra’s _mysterious past.”_

“Not helping, Entrapta,” Catra growled.

“You know, Wildcat, you never did tell us much about where you came from or what happened that led to you joining the Guild of Shadows. Would you finally talk to us? Please? It’s clear that this mission has you a bit shaken. I meant what I said about us being with you all the way,” Scorpia said, her voice _oozing_ sappiness. “Effective communication _is_ often the solution to interpersonal issues!” Entrapta added. Emily’s eyes flashed, almost as if voicing assent.

 _Why did I ever think being buddy-buddy with these people was a good idea?_ Catra wondered. She let out a loud sigh. “Maybe later.”

Scorpia looked a little disappointed, but she didn’t press the matter further. Not that she would have gotten far, because at that moment the door burst open to reveal another Spectre. “Shadow Weaver requests Spectre Catra’s presence,” he said, seeming a bit nervous. “Uh, can it wait? I’m kinda… recovering here,” Catra said, pointing to her practically healed wounds. “Shadow Weaver requests Spectre Catra’s presence _now,”_ the Spectre stated, even more nervous. Catra groaned softly and gave her friends a curt wave of farewell. “Talk to you later.” Then she was on her way to Shadow Weaver’s sanctum.

She strode down the cold stone hallways, wondering what excuse Shadow Weaver would come up with to punish her this time. Admittedly, the battle _had_ been a failure, but that hadn’t been Catra’s fault. She had done exactly what she had been told to do, stick by Octavia and watch as the other Guild of Shadow members worked to mask the Horde force’s approach. She was instructed to save her own ki for anything Octavia ordered her to do, so she was stuck walking in the caravan while listening to the Force Captain blather on about conquest and victory and yadda, yadda, yadda.

While she was tuning out of Octavia’s one-sided conversation, her eyes were scanning the caravan. Looking for a certain someone. Adora was here. She knew that because Shadow Weaver hadn’t stopped talking about it, going on and on about how proud she was of Adora for becoming a Force Captain and then doing a complete 180 and cursing Hordak for not giving Adora to her. Catra was still unnerved by how Shadow Weaver could turn from warm and matronly to cold and hissing in an instant, and then right back again. _Even after all these years, I’m still not enough? Will nothing I ever do please you?_ Catra often found herself thinking. 

She wasn’t entirely sure why she was looking for Adora. She certainly knew the other girl didn’t care one bit about her. She had made that clear enough. Maybe Catra just wanted to see her one last time. To scream in her face and get out all the anger that had been feeding on her like a parasite for the past ten years, then walk away and never see her again. Perhaps that would give Catra some closure, some satisfaction in knowing that she had told Adora everything she wanted to say.

But she didn’t find her. At least not at first. Not until she heard a crumbling of rock, and she looked to see that some idiot soldier was about to fall off the cliffside. An idiot with familiar blonde hair pulled into a ponytail. Sure enough, it was Adora who was about to tumble to her death. In spite of herself, a panicked “Adora!” tore from Catra’s throat as she watched her fall. She scrambled over to where other soldiers were gathering to see her disappear into the treeline. She hadn’t been fast enough. If the fall hadn’t killed her old friend, the woods would. 

A yawning cavern had opened up in Catra’s soul. Adora was… gone. Catra had just watched her die. She never got to talk to her. Never told her how much she missed her, never told her how much she hated her, never told her…

Catra didn’t remember much about the rest of the walk to Thaymor. She didn’t remember much about the beginning of the attack. She did remember, with striking clarity, the moment her eyes fell on Adora as she entered the town square. Alive. She remembered the moment Adora severed her ties with the Horde. She remembered the moment she was ordered to use her shadow arts on her old friend. She remembered the battle and retreat that came after.

Adora was alive. But now they were on opposite sides. Adora, on the side of the Rebellion. Catra, with the Guild of Shadows, currently allied with the Horde. The two groups had formed ties with each other during Hordak’s early conquests, when the new leader of the Guild of Shadows had reached out to him. Shadow Weaver, a recent arrival to the Guild whose cutthroat attitude and cold and calculating personality had allowed her to climb her way up the ranks rather quickly, had proposed an alliance to the leader of the Horde. 

The Guild of Shadows was legendary for their abilities to work in the, well, shadows. Spies, assassins, saboteurs, they could do all that and more. Shadow Weaver decided that they would best survive and thrive while working with the Horde, and Hordak had agreed. Or perhaps she just saw the Horde as a way to get more power. That was probably more likely. After all, it had been Hordak who had given her the shard of a World Gate to do with as she pleased. Thus, a partnership soaked in blood was formed.

Catra finally reached the entrance to Shadow Weaver’s sanctum and knocked on the heavy doors. “Enter,” a voice said from within. Catra let herself in to see Shadow Weaver looming over her runestone, the Black Garnet. The massive gem always made her hair stand up on end, and the combination of Shadow Weaver and it never failed to freak her out.

“You wanted to see me?” Catra asked hesitantly.

“I wanted to talk about your colossal failure at Thaymor,” Shadow Weaver said, turning to her.

Even in her fear, Catra bristled. “You can’t possibly blame that on me-” Shadow Weaver cut her off as she moved closer, circling her.

“I thought that maybe after your Darkening that you’d finally be of use to the Guild besides being a babysitter for those two idiots from the Horde. But of course I was wrong. You slipped up, and Adora was allowed to defect and escape to Bright Moon. In addition, our forces were soundly defeated in battle. We have a _reputation_ to uphold, and having members of our Guild, even low-ranking ones, on the losing side of such a battle shines a bad light on us.”

“What was _I_ supposed to do-”

“But,” Shadow Weaver said, holding up a hand in front of Catra. “I am giving you an opportunity to clean up the mess you made.”

Catra was struck silent. “What?” This was new. Shadow Weaver never played this game. It was always scorn, punishment, then on to the next thing. She must have been really hung up on Thaymor. Because of Adora, most likely. It was always about _Adora._

Shadow Weaver confirmed her thoughts by saying. “Despite your failings, this has given us an unexpected opportunity. Adora holds incredible power within her, a power that we now have the chance to take for ourselves. What I want you to do is simple, Catra. Find Adora and the people she travels with. It will likely be the sorcerer girl and the archer, from what I’ve seen in the Black Garnet. Kill them, but take her alive. Bring her to me. Then finally, I will have her to use as I wish.”

“Uh… Doesn’t the leader of the Horde want her too? She seems pretty important to him,” Catra asked. What was Shadow Weaver planning?

“That’s why this is a mission of secrecy. Only you and I know about it. Hordak will never realize I’ve found her, and I’ll be free to use her power as I wish.” 

_Oh. So that’s what she’s up to._

“Where should I start? To look for her, I mean?” Catra asked. She wasn’t about to scour the entire continent for three people. Shadow Weaver at least had the decency to give her some initial directions, right?

“You’re a member of the Guild of Shadows. I think you can figure it out.”

Apparently not.

“Now take a horse and go. You will leave immediately,” Shadow Weaver’s tone indicated no room for argument.

“Can I at least say goodbye-”

“ _Get. Out. Now. Don’t make me repeat myself again.”_ Shadow Weaver spat as her eyes narrowed into slits behind her mask. Catra took that as her cue to leave. She slunk out the door and made her way to her room to grab her stuff. She entered her room, a small part of her hoping that Scorpia and Entrapta were still there, but she found it empty. 

Catra was a bit regretful to leave without at least telling them where she was going, but she wasn’t about to incur Shadow Weaver’s wrath. Half the time she was shocked Shadow Weaver hadn’t killed her already based on the way she acted around her. She didn’t want to give her any “reason” to. She grabbed her pack, her knives, and finally picked up her spear. It was made of long, dark metal, with the slightly curved blade arcing in a crescent shape before narrowing into a point. She would definitely be making use of this since she couldn’t bring it to Thaymor for some stupid reason she didn’t bother to remember. Without so much as a final glance, she swept out of the room.

Catra went to the stables, got a horse easily enough, and then she was galloping out of the temple. Just as soon as she had returned, she was leaving again on a new mission. A mission that would lead her right to her old friend. Her now-enemy, who she had been ordered to kidnap. She could do this. She _had_ to do this. Maybe once the deed was done, she could finally be at peace. It would be over, whatever _it_ was, this confusing mix of feelings inside her that she couldn’t figure out. Catra rode off into the horizon, unaware of the adventure that awaited her.

\-------------------------

Adora’s eyes shot open as her mind shifted back into a conscious state. She was in her bed- a _real_ bed this time, mind you, not one of those marshmallows everyone else slept on- in the room she called her own. Bow and Glimmer were sleeping nearby, just like they had been doing for almost every night since Adora had arrived in Bright Moon. They had done everything they could to make sure Adora had felt at home, and Adora couldn’t thank them enough. Still thought she hadn’t thanked them enough. The two had given her so much that Adora wasn’t sure how she could ever repay them. Well, she figured she could start by being a good She-Ra.

One part of being the best She-Ra she could be was practicing her combat skills. Since she frequently found herself with time to spend however she pleased, a foreign concept to her, she often found herself sparring with Netossa. The Paladin had been more than willing to make sure the She-Ra’s battle instincts remained razor-sharp, and she had even offered to help Adora with her magic. Not that the two’s magical talents had much in common, but hey, it was the thought that counted. She had even met Spinnerella, Netossa’s wife, on a few occasions. Adora had taken an instant liking to the woman, her sweet personality reminding her of Bow and Glimmer.

Speaking of the two, they were now stirring awake as well. They both stretched and yawned, Glimmer’s being significantly more exaggerated than Bow’s.

“Mmmm, morning Bow. Morning Adora,” Glimmer mumbled, groggy.

“Everybody sleep well?” Bow asked brightly.

“How are you this full of energy? The sun’s barely up!” Glimmer moaned.

“It’s just who I am,” Bow replied. “Adora’s a morning person, too. Right, Adora?”

“Yep,” she replied. “It’s like the saying goes: The early bird gets the worm, the lazy bird suffers from slow, agonizing starvation!”

“I don’t think that’s how the saying goes,” Bow said, put off. “I mean, it doesn’t even rhyme or anything.”

“Both of you stop talking, I just want to go back to sleep,” Glimmer face planted back into her pillow.

“Sure you want to sleep in on the big day?” Bow asked, and Glimmer’s head shot back up. “I almost forgot!” she cried, apparently having found her own energy. Today was the day of their first mission: To recruit Princess Perfuma of Plumeria for the Princess Alliance. According to King Micah, Plumeria was the only remaining Elven kingdom in the Material Plane. Apparently, the other elves left for the Feywild long ago. There had been a debate for some time on who to visit first, but it was finally agreed that they should visit Perfuma both because of her proximity and her amiable nature.

Glimmer and Bow left Adora’s room to get their own gear together, and Adora was left to deal with her own equipment. She put on her new chain mail armor, admiring how well-made it was. She then grabbed her shield, another item that had been given to her along with the chain mail. It was a plain, simple shield, but it would get the job done. Finally, Adora picked up the Sword of Protection that was wrapped in its new sheath made for her by the craftspeople of Bright Moon, and grabbed a bag of supplies.

The details of the dream last night were a bit foggy, but Adora remembered well enough. Grayskull had given her two boons and a new spell. Apparently she could see much better in the dark now, and she could alter her appearance to some extent. She had also learned that his previous warlock had caused the cataclysmic event that cut the World Gates off from the Material Plane. That was something to process. Well, she was going to be different. She was going to _save_ the world, not break it like Mara did. She was going to be the best warlock ever, and nothing was going to stop her.

She exited her room and joined Glimmer and Bow, who had gathered their things. They made their way through the castle to the war room, the place where they went to meet on matters of the conflict with the Horde. Adora noticed on the way that Bow was bursting with excitement, even more so than normal. 

“What’s got you so worked up?” Adora asked.

“I’m just so excited! It’s the Best Friend Squad’s first _quest._ We’re going to do all the stuff they talk about in the stories: slay monsters, save people, camp under the night sky-”

“Absolutely not, Bow. If we’re sleeping anywhere it’ll be in an inn,” Glimmer interjected.

“- and going into _inns!_ The inn is the most iconic part of any adventure, even sometimes where it starts in the first place. There’s nothing more magical than going to an inn for the first time as an adventurer.”

“Have you never been to an inn before, Bow?” Adora asked. It certainly hadn’t seemed that way.

“Actually, Thaymor would have been my first time, but then, you know, the battle happened. We don’t go to neighboring villages often, and even before my dads and I got here we had our own place. But this is a big milestone for us! We’re going to stay in an inn! As adventurers!”

“Yeah, Bow, you kinda said that already,” Glimmer pointed out.

“Oh, did I? I guess I’m just excited.”

“Actually, you won’t have to go to an inn on this trip,” King Micah said as they entered the war room. It looks like he had heard at least some of their conversation. Bow visibly deflated at the news, and Glimmer just looked perplexed.

“We… won’t?” she asked.

“It was something I had nearly forgotten, since it was so long ago, but before the Princess Alliance fell, I was able to link up several locations through teleportation circles. One of those locations was Plumeria. That means no travel is necessary, since I can teleport you all there in an instant,” King Micah explained.

Glimmer’s face brightened, and Bow’s face became even more sad.

“Aw,” he moaned. “I was looking forward to the journey!”

“Maybe next time, Bow,” Adora attempted to console him. It didn’t appear to work.

“Wow, Dad, that’s really helpful,” Glimmer said, impressed. Her voice turned hopeful as she then asked, “Any chance you have some cool magic items in the armory we could borrow? It could help us out a lot.”

“How about you get some successful missions under your belt, and then we’ll talk,” King Micah said with a chuckle. “I will give you this, though.” He handed his daughter a small stone with a whispering face carved into it. “It’s a sending stone. We can communicate through these. I want to make sure my daughter’s ok when she’s out on adventures. Promise me you’ll send me an update every night, alright? Or else I’m personally leading the whole of Bright Moon’s forces to wherever you are.” 

Glimmer nodded. “Ok, ok, Dad. I promise.”

“Take care of yourself, ok?”

“I’ve got healing magic, Dad. I think I’ll be fine. And besides, I’ve got a new spell that I’ve been wanting to try out,” Glimmer said confidently.

“And I’ll be there to back her up, Your Majesty,” Bow pledged. “I’ve got some new skills of my own.”

“And you have my sword as well,” Adora said. “She-Ra will defend them with her life. Nothing will happen to them, I swear it.” 

As she said that, she activated the second boon Grayskull had gifted to her. Her image changed as suddenly she was clad in shining gold and white armor like Mara’s. Her shield was now emblazoned with the crest that also adorned her chestplate, a shape resembling a seven-pointed star with a blue oval in the center. In addition, she was now a good foot taller than usual. Bow and Glimmer gasped in wonder, and King Micah raised his eyebrows.

“That’s so cool!” her two friends cried in unison.

“How did you do that?” Bow asked.

“Well, I thought if I was going to be She-Ra, then I should look the part. Does it look ok?” Adora said, a bit nervous. Maybe this had been a bad idea. Maybe she shouldn’t be trying to look like someone she wasn’t. Maybe she just looked ridiculous.

“Are you kidding? You look amazing, Adora!” Glimmer said appreciatively.

“You definitely look like She-Ra now!” Bow said.

Or maybe not. Maybe she could do this.

“Are you all ready? Did you pack everything? Glimmer, you didn’t forget your staff, did you? You have enough arrows, right Bow? Adora, how’s the new armor? Can you move alright in it?” King Micah asked, the fatherly concern evident in his voice.

“Dad, we’re all fine! Stop worrying,” Glimmer complained.

A bittersweet smile appeared on King Micah’s face. “I’m your dad. It’s what I do. Now then, if you’re all good to go, then let’s get started.”

He led them to an empty room where he began to trace a circle full of intricate runes into the floor. “This will take you to the center of Plumeria. Find Perfuma and see if you can convince her to join the Princess Alliance. You’re a charismatic bunch, I know you can do it. Then get someone to teleport you back. If you have a problem doing that for any reason, then find some horses and make your way to Bright Moon that way.”

The three friends nodded. With one last line, King Micah completed the glyphs of the circle and the spell was activated. It flared to life beneath them, encasing them in a bright light as they were swept to their destination. This was it, their first mission as a team. They would find Perfuma and recruit her, the first step to rebuilding the fractured Princess Alliance. The Best Friend Squad was determined to succeed. How difficult could Plumeria be?

Well, more difficult than they thought, seeing as they were about to be fighting for their lives in the next thirty seconds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a brief time between 2 levels in warlock and 3 levels in warlock where Adora has an eldritch invocation that she'll eventually get rid of for improved pact weapon, so I thought: Why not make some drama where Adora once again feels like she's not good enough?
> 
> Also in case anyone's wondering, I basically just modified the traits of the Tortles to create the Scorpionfolk.
> 
> One last thing: Tabaxi in this world are basically just look like Catra from 2018 She-Ra, not anthropomorphic cats. Just in case there was any confusion.
> 
> SPELL LIST:  
> "Her image changed as suddenly she was clad in shining gold and white armor like Mara’s..." Adora used Disguise Self  
> With one last line, King Micah completed the glyphs of the circle and the spell was activated..." King Micah used Teleportation Circle


	7. Plumeria

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Best Friend Squad arrives in Plumeria and gets into fights. They meet a new princess and... a horse?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not one! Not two! But THREE fight scenes, yay! This was pretty fun to write, not gonna lie. I think I did ok writing Adora's mini crisis, but I'm not always too confident when it comes to me writing dialogue. Hope you think it's alright.

Immediately after Adora, Glimmer, and Bow arrived at their destination, they could tell something was wrong. As the trio appeared in the teleportation circle that led to the kingdom of Plumeria, they could see that this area had been abandoned for some time. The wooden buildings around them had been reclaimed by nature, leaving only hints of the civilization that once lived there. The whole place was covered in dead shrubs and tangles of vines. 

“What happened here?” Glimmer asked, stepping off of the circle. Only the wind answered her.

“Well, obviously something bad, since it looks like everyone left,” Bow observed. “This place doesn’t look too old, yet it’s covered in plants. Some kind of magic?”

Adora had a bad feeling about this. “Something’s wrong. We need to get out of here, now. Glimmer, can you-”

Suddenly, the ground writhed beneath her, and grasping roots and vines burst out of the ground. Glimmer and Bow were caught in them as well. The vines tried to grab the three, reaching around their limbs like snakes. Adora and Bow forced their way out, but Glimmer was unfortunately restrained. In the center of the area where the plants had come to life was a tangled mass of vines. As they watched, it twisted until it resembled a person.

“ _Time to feed,”_ it hissed as the bundles of twigs around it turned into figures as well. The twig monsters went for Glimmer first, seeing her as the easiest target. As they approached her, Bow managed to smack one of them with his longbow, scattering it into a mess of fractured wood. The rest, however, made it to Glimmer and began to scratch at her. She was able to wriggle out of the way of some of the hits, but two landed striked on her with their claws. Glimmer screamed as they left long gashes on her arms.

Next, the living mass of vines tried to attack Bow, seeing him as the weaker target now that Glimmer was having trouble. It sent forward a long vine in an attempt to grab him, but he dodged out of the way in time. Bow then retaliated with a shot of his own, pulling an arrow from his quiver, nocking it into his bow, and drawing it fully in one fluid motion. He muttered some words underneath his breath and the arrow began to glow with a faint yellow energy. “How about a taste of your own medicine!” he cried as he loosed the arrow, sending it flying with a whistling scream as it flew towards the monster. It struck it directly in the chest, making it screech, then vines of his own burst out of the arrow. The new vines spread across the monster, thorns sprouting and burrowing into its body as it shrieked in distress. It thrashed and flailed until at last it dropped to the ground, not moving. Bow blinked and looked pleasantly surprised. “Didn’t expect it to work that well,” he remarked. “Thanks, dads.”

Glimmer was still restrained by the vines, but not for long. With a shout in Celestial, she disappeared from the vines in a puff of pink smoke. She reappeared a few feet away and blasted the nearest twig monster with radiant energy, sending it flying apart. Adora rushed to Glimmer’s aid, vines and roots beneath her hindering her movement somewhat. She then began cutting down the remaining monsters. Bow started shooting arrows at them as well, practically disintegrating the tiny creatures as his arrows hit home. Finally, there were none left standing, and an eerie quiet fell upon the place.

“Are you ok?” Bow asked, frantic, as Glimmer cast a healing spell on herself. “Yeah, I’ll be fine,” she said, wincing in pain at the memory of the injuries now healed by her magic. Adora felt a pang in her chest as she watched her friend. Immediately, she had failed to protect her from harm. Some She-Ra she was. But they had bigger problems right now. As Adora watched, other patches of the abandoned area had started to wake up, vines and twigs writhing as more monsters awakened. Their battle had not gone unnoticed by the other beings that dwelled there. “Guys, we need to go. Right. Now.”

“You’re absolutely right!” a voice said behind them. They all jumped and whirled around to see a wood elf girl with blonde hair full of flowers and a green and pink dress smiling at them. “We should leave immediately before the rest of the blights attack us. They’re not the kind of plants that can be reasoned with, unfortunately.”

“Who are you?” Glimmer asked. “I’m Perfuma! Princess of Plumeria!” Perfuma bowed before turning to Adora. Her eyes widened as she saw her disguised self. “And you must be the She-Ra! The legends were true after all, you have returned!” Adora smiled nervously at the new arrival. “Um, yeah, that’s me. She-Ra.”

“So you were saying we should leave?” Bow asked, glancing at the rest of the blights who were waking up. “Yes. Further conversation will have to wait, I’m afraid. We should get out of here,” Perfuma said. The four of them rushed out of the settlement, careful to avoid anything that could have been a blight. They walked for some time until they were sure the blights hadn’t taken notice of them and were giving pursuit, then they slowed down.

“So, uh, Perfuma? Where are we going exactly?” Bow asked.

“Yeah, what the heck? What was that back there? We teleport in and right out of the gate we get attacked?” Glimmer added.

Perfuma looked apologetic before replying, “Well, we don’t live there anymore. It’s been taken over by the forest.”

“Yeah, we kind of figured that out,” Glimmer said drily.

Perfuma didn’t seem to mind that comment as she continued. “It’s been that way ever since the Horde showed up. They’ve been messing with the woods. Making it angry. The darker parts come out more often now, the parts that we almost never saw before. Monsters, you see. They attack anyone in sight, even the people who live here like us. They took over our old settlement, so we had to move.”

“Wait, the Horde’s here? They’ve been messing with the forest?” Bow asked, surprised.

“Yeah,” Perfuma replied, a bit sad. Her voice became lighter when she then said, “But it’s ok! Bad things are just a part of life, you have to live with them.”

“But you don’t _have_ to just live with it. Haven’t you tried fighting back? You’re a Princess, right? Doesn’t that mean you have powers?” Adora asked.

“Well, not all princesses have powers. It’s just a title. But yeah, I do.” She picked up a flower that hadn’t yet blossomed. Suddenly, the petals opened, revealing the beautiful colors within. “That’s my power. I’m good with plants and animals, and I know a little bit of magic. I’m no fighter.”

“But if you never try, how will you know?” Adora pressed. “If you continue to do nothing, then it’ll just hurt you and your people in the future.”

“That’s why we’re here actually,” Glimmer said. “We want to fight against the Horde, so our goal is to rebuild the Princess Alliance. Starting with you. Together, I know we can face the Horde.”

Perfuma looked nonplussed. “You want… me?” she asked, pointing to herself.

“Of course. We’re stronger together,” Bow said.

“You may not think you can do anything. You may think that you’re powerless to stop them, but you’re _not_ ,” Adora said. “You just have to believe you can make a difference. You have to have the strength to stand up for yourself and your kingdom. If you can do that, then the Horde will never terrorize your people again.”

Perfuma took a moment to take that all in. Then a small smile appeared on her face. “I’ll have to think about that. Thank you,” she said before trying to put her hand on the side of Adora’s face. When it passed through, she looked thoroughly confused. “You’re not She-Ra?” she asked, stepping back. “No, wait- I am, it’s just that, well, this isn’t actually what I look like. I’m still She-Ra, though. I’ve got the Sword of Protection and everything,” she hurriedly explained, pulling out the sword. Perfuma hesitantly put her hands on it, as if she thought that would be an illusion too. After examining it, she looked back at Adora and asked, “Why hide yourself?”

“Well, because, this looks… better, you know? I actually look like She-Ra like this. Like a hero,” Adora said awkwardly. Perfuma gave her a look like there was something she wanted to say, but then kept walking. It was clear she was a little upset by the accidental deception. Adora decided not to press the matter.

Eventually, they came upon the new settlement the Plumerians called home. It was a lively and colorful place, with the people living in harmony with the forest around them. In the center was a massive tree with a large, orb-like pink gem embedded in the center that reminded Adora of the Moonstone. As they watched, the tree suddenly split and a face appeared. It spoke in a deep, gravelly voice, saying something Adora couldn’t understand. Perfuma replied in a like manner, gesturing to the three newcomers. Bow and Glimmer seemed to understand, though. “ _What are they saying?”_ Adora loudly whispered to them. _“She’s introducing us to the Heart Blossom Tree,”_ Glimmer explained. Bow added, _“It looks like they animated the tree holding their runestone with magic. That’s incredible, I’m definitely going to have to tell my dads about this.”_

“It makes it easier for us to keep the Heart Blossom safe when something happens like with the blights,” Perfuma said in Common, having overheard their conversation. “And besides, the Heart Blossom Tree is very pleasant to talk to. They’re an excellent conversationalist.” 

People had begun to take notice of the newcomers at the tree, and a small crowd was gathering near where they stood. Perfuma began to talk to the crowd in the language Adora assumed was Elvish, and the gasps of wonder rippled through the group. They began to crowd in closer, but Perfuma said something again and they backed off a bit. Adora figured she was telling them to give them some space. She appreciated that, since the people would probably panic if they realized the giant hero in front of them was an illusion. Still, better to give the people an image of a shining savior, right?

After the crowd had finished ogling at the new arrivals, Perfuma approached them again. “I’ve been thinking about your proposal,” she began. “Have you decided?” Glimmer asked hopefully.

“I’ve decided to let the universe decide!” Perfuma cried happily. Adora, Bow, and Glimmer tried to mask their disappointment with varying degrees of success. “Well, more specifically, I’ve decided to let the Spirit decide.”

“The what?” Adora asked.

“There’s an ancient spirit that lives in the oldest parts of the forest, a being that has been here since the first tree was but a sapling. He is a wise spirit, wise enough to determine the strength of your hearts. If he deems your cause a worthy one, I’ll happily join you! If he doesn’t, well… it might end badly.”

“How bad are we talking here?” Bow asked. The shakiness in his voice betrayed his unease.

“He might kill you all. But who knows? Maybe he won’t,” Perfuma answered. It was almost unnerving how cheerful she remained when delivering this news.

“So, uh, are you going to give us directions, or, how does this work?” Bow questioned.

“Nope! I’m coming with you. I have to be there to hear his answer, of course. He doesn’t really get around a lot to talk to people,” Perfuma answered. “Now let’s go!”

“Oh, we’re going now?” Glimmer asked.

“Why not? It’s the perfect time,” Perfuma said. “To the Spirit!”

They left the settlement and traveled through the forest. The farther in they walked, the more it seemed like the forest wasn’t enthusiastic about them being there. The place looked almost hostile, and everyone was on a sharp lookout for blights or other monsters. Perfuma was a much more perceptive individual than the other three, so several times she had been the one to give a warning to the group that something was nearby. She had so far steered them away from several floating lights she called will-o-wisps, an enormous snake with the limp form of a wolf in its powerful jaws, and a strange creature that looked like a cross between an owl and a bear.

In the moments where they weren’t in danger of being eaten, Perfuma struck up conversations with Adora. “So, She-Ra, how did you come to be a member of the Princess Alliance?”

“Well, I used to be part of… a, uh, pretty bad place.”

“The Horde?”

Adora whirled to face her. “How did you know that?”

“I’ve seen plenty of Horde soldiers fight from afar, you know. I’m very good at avoiding being seen. I figured from the way you took on those blights. You move a lot like them, so I just put two and two together.”

“You’re… ok with that?”

“Well, it certainly looks like you’ve found yourself a brighter place now. And I don’t like to judge people for where they come from. Only what they choose to do with their lives. But your aura… it’s very sad. Lost. Why is that?”

“Because…” Was Adora about to open up to this girl she’d just met? Well, they were trying to recruit her, after all. Honesty might be the best route for that. And also, that’s kind of what she had done with Glimmer and Bow. “I don’t know what I’m doing at all, and I don’t want to let anyone down. By some _miracle_ I managed to convince everyone I mean well and I want to help, which I do, but _how_? I don’t know the first thing about being She-Ra. I didn’t even know there was such a thing until a little while back. And now I’m supposed to… I don’t know, save the world? I want to protect everyone, but I couldn’t even protect Glimmer back there. I don’t even look the part, that’s why I have this going on,” she said in a lowered voice as she gestured to her illusory self.

Perfuma smiled and put her hand on Adora’s shoulder reassuringly. It passed through her illusory shoulder and rested on her actual one. “There’s many stories about the She-Ra before you. Stories of great battles and epic adventures. I looked up to her so much when I was little. But she wasn’t such a great hero because she _looked_ like someone heroic. She was a great hero because of the way she _acted,_ because of her selfless deeds. She saved people because there was goodness in her heart, a goodness I can see in you as clear as day. You don’t need to look like a knight in shining armor to do great things. You just have to be _you._ Your friends already believe in you, I can tell. Now you just have to believe in yourself. You can’t save everyone. You can’t prevent people from getting hurt all the time. But if you can just save _one_ person, sometimes that’s all that matters. Even if that person is you. _”_

“Oh,” Adora said, a little choked up. “That’s… wow. That’s really nice of you to say.”

“Hey,” Glimmer asked, noticing the unshed tears in Adora’s eyes and moving closer to comfort her. “Are you alright?” Bow went to help out as well.

“Yeah, guys,” Adora said, ending the spell that disguised her. “I’m alright.”

“Did something happen?” Bow asked. “What’s wrong with the look?”

“Nothing’s wrong. I thought that if I made myself look like that, like a hero was ‘supposed’ to be, then I’d feel more confident in myself. Like I could actually do what everyone wants me to do. So many people are expecting these great things from me, but I don’t have a clue how to do them. I didn’t even feel like I looked like someone heroic. I thought that by changing my appearance, I could be a better She-Ra, be better for you guys. But how I look doesn’t matter. It’s how I act that decides the fate of the world. I want to fight the Horde. I want to save Etheria. And I don’t want to let you two down.”

“Oh, Adora,” Glimmer said as she hugged her. “I wish you had talked to us about this. I didn’t realize that was what the new look was about. We don’t like you because you’re She-Ra, you know. We like you because you’re our friend. You don’t have to be perfect, nobody is. We’re here to help you.”

“I thought telling you you looked like She-Ra was a good idea when you first changed, but now I see it was a terrible thing to say,” Bow cried as he added himself to the hug. “You shouldn’t have to feel like you need to change your appearance for anybody. You’re our friend, and that’s enough for us.”

“Hooray!” Perfuma said as she too entered the hug. “Everyone’s auras are much brighter now!” They all laughed.

After a few moments they all unentangled themselves from the hug, and Adora stuck out her hand to Perfuma. “I don’t think I’ve properly introduced myself,” she said. “My name is Adora.” Perfuma took her hand and shook it, elated. “It’s a pleasure,” she said, the happiness in her voice genuine. Her eyes then widened as she took in their current surroundings. “I recognize this part of the woods! We’re close,” she said. “Follow me.”

She led them to an area where the trees opened up to reveal a much more welcoming place than its surroundings. Before them was a charming clearing where on top of a hill sat a horse with a white coat of fur and a mane of hair colored in shades of orange. Well, this was not what any of them had expected. “We came all this way to talk to a _horse?”_ Glimmer hissed, irritated. “Well, that’s pretty rude,” the horse called down to them. “I’d like to think I’m a rather interesting horse.”

Adora, Bow, and Glimmer each let out small squeaks of shock as Perfuma looked on in amusement.

“The horse can talk!” Bow said, amazed.

“Yeah, yeah. It’s pretty cool,” the horse responded. So they _hadn’t_ all been hallucinating. “Now who are you and-”

“He’s a talking horse!” Adora added very helpfully.

The horse looked a bit exasperated now. “As we have established.”

“This is incredible!” Glimmer shrieked.

The horse sighed heavily as Perfuma giggled. “Ok, I’ll give you a moment to freak out, and then we need to talk about what you three are doing here. I already know Perfuma, she’s cool.”

They proceeded to freak out for a few more seconds, but they finally all managed to collect themselves. 

“Um, hello, talking horse,” Glimmer began. 

“Call me Swift Wind,” the horse said, shaking his illustrious mane. 

“Uh, ok, Swift Wind. My name is Glimmer, Princess of Bright Moon. These are my friends, Bow and Adora,” Glimmer introduced them all. As her hand went to Adora, the horse’s eyes went wide as he sniffed the air. 

“No way,” he said. Just like that, he was on his feet and galloping towards Adora. He circled her, sniffing so much it was like he had some kind of flu. “Ohohohohoho,” he cackled, almost maniacal. “No way. _No way._ It’s finally happened! After all this time!”

“Uh, _what’s_ happened? Are you alright? Are you sick?” Adora asked, more than a little confused. Her companions, even Perfuma, all seemed to have no idea what Swift Wind was doing.

“Do you have _any_ idea how long I’ve been waiting for one of your kind to show up? It’s been ages! Ages! I couldn’t leave this place, but now here you are! And I get to follow you, as your loyal steed!” The horse was buzzing with excitement, hopping- if a horse could hop- from one hoof to the other.

“Um, what?”

“ _Swift Wind, you must watch over one of the star-children. Wait for the one to come who will claim you as her own. Protect her and watch over her as she conquers mighty evil. And no, you can’t leave from this spot until she comes,”_ the horse said in a deep voice, as if trying to mimic someone else. “But now you’re here! An aasimar, in the flesh! Well, even if you smell like one of the fallen, he didn’t specify _what_ kind of aasimar I had to follow, so suck it, Dad! I get to get out of this place after so freaking long!”

Bow and Glimmer gaped at Adora. “You’re an aasimar?” they gasped at the same time. 

“Yeah, I guess. I actually didn’t know for a long time. _Grayskull told me the day I met you two,”_ Adora said, dropping her voice to a whisper. “Wait, what do you mean, _fallen?”_

“Fallen aasimar are those who either became twisted by evil impulses or got touched by dark forces at a young age. They’re not all necessarily evil, though, they just get cool skeleton wings that scare people,” Swift Wind explained. “Quick question, are you evil? I’m following you out of here anyway, I just want to know.”

“Swift Wind! You shouldn’t follow evil!” Perfuma spoke up, appalled.

“What? You’d take any chance to get out of here if you were stuck in this place for as long as I have.”

“I’m- I’m not evil! What you said before about origins- yeah, definitely the latter. Bad upbringing,” Adora explained. Swift Wind brightened. “Oh, cool, cool. I’d prefer that you’re not bad. Then again, Dad did say that you’d _fight_ evil, so I guess it was a dumb question to ask in the first place.”

“Dad?” Bow asked.

“Yeah, my dad. It was his quest at first, but then he had me so he could die in peace, knowing someone was there to make sure his mission got fulfilled.”

“Oh… well, that kind of sucks.” Bow said.

“Tell me about it. Nothing I can do about that, though. Kinda required to carry it out. But you’re here now, so we can leave! Preferably as soon as possible.”

“You’re not going to see if our quest is worthy?” Glimmer asked.

“Oh, yeah you’re worthy. You’re _so_ worthy. The worthiest. What’s your quest?”

“We’re fighting to save the world from the Evil Horde. They’ve been a threat to all the good places of the world, including this kingdom, for too long. We’re reforming the Princess Alliance to stop them,” Adora explained.

“I don’t know what either of those things are, but sounds good to me! Let’s go!”

Glimmer sputtered. “You don’t know about the Horde or the Princess Alliance?”

“Look, Pinky, I’m not allowed to get out much, so yeah, no. All I get is what Perfuma tells me, and it’s mostly about what flowers she saw today.” Perfuma looked a little offended at that.

“Pi- my name is _Glimmer,_ ” Glimmer said, upset.

“To-ma-to, to-mah-to.”

Glimmer grunted in frustration, but gave up. She then turned to Perfuma, a bit hesitant. “Does this mean… you’ll join us?”

Perfuma looked like she was struggling to process the events that had just transpired. It was obvious that she had never seen Swift Wind act this way before. “I mean… I said what I said, didn’t I? He’s… very wise… and he says you’re worthy, so…” she trailed off with a smile that looked just a little forced.

“Everybody good? Ok? Ok. Are you going back to your place, Perfuma, or are you going with these people?” Swift Wind asked.

“No, I’d like to go back to my settlement to inform the people of my decision. This is pretty big for us, so I want to be the one to tell them,” Perfuma said.

“We’ll accompany you,” Glimmer offered. 

“Yeah, it’s only right,” Bow added. 

Perfuma smiled. “Wonderful.”

They walked back to the settlement as Swift Wind talked animatedly to Adora about things that mostly went over her head, like the “bourgeoisie” and “seizing the means of production.” Apparently he’d spent a lot of time thinking about government, for some reason. She walked over to Glimmer and Bow as Swift Wind kept talking and asked, “So what’s so special about me being an aasimar?”

“Well, they’re super rare ever since the Great Silence happened,” Bow said.

“Why’s that?”

“When the Gates went silent, the celestials stopped coming down from Eternia for the most part, so almost no new ones have been born,” Glimmer explained. “You being an aasimar is a _big deal,_ Adora. It’s… incredible. You must have had a _powerful_ celestial parent to have been born with a connection to the Upper Plane in a time like this.” That made Adora wonder about her heritage, not for the first time. She had vague memories of her mother, but she had no memory at all of her father. Which one of them had not been quite human? Adora might never know.

As they drew closer to their destination, they heard things that made their blood run cold. Screams. The sounds of combat. “No!” Perfuma shouted as she rushed ahead of them. As they burst into the settlement, they could see many Horde soldiers rushing the place, attacking anyone in sight.

“We have to stop them!” Adora yelled, charging into the fray. Bow and Glimmer moved to follow, but they all stopped to see that Perfuma seemed paralyzed. She was frozen, watching the devastation unfold in her home. Adora went up to her and clapped her hands on the sides of her face. “Your people are in danger. They need you. It’s time to _fight,”_ she said, hoping her words would get through to the girl. Fortunately, they did, as she was galvanized into action. She snapped back into focus, and she nodded to Adora, though she didn’t look like she knew what to do at all. “Any kind of magic you have, use it. Stay with Glimmer and watch each other’s backs. Do what you can to evacuate the civilians. Bow, get on the rooftops and start taking out soldiers that get too close to people. I’ll try to draw them away,” Adora ordered.

“I can help too!” Swift Wind cried. He gestured for Adora to get on his back. “Loyal steed, remember?” Adora clambered onto his back and unsheathed her sword. “Let’s go.”

They charged into the chaos, their friends right behind them. Soon enough, Bow was picking off soldiers from the rooftop, nimbly dodging the crossbow bolts that shot his way from time to time. Glimmer had begun blasting at any soldier she saw with magic, her body covered in a blue protective force. Nearby, an ape with fur a familiar shade of blonde was darting in and out of the Horde’s ranks to strike, occasionally chucking rocks as she went. The two of them went from house to house, getting the townspeople to safety. When a Horde soldier decided they were going to give pursuit, an arrow found its way into their back more often than not. Adora rode through the town, trying to attract attention away from the fleeing civilians. It was pretty successful, with shouts of “Get her!” and “Traitor!” inspiring most of the soldiers to give chase.

At last, though, she found herself surrounded. She was boxed in from all sides, and the enemy was closing in on her. She was in trouble. No one was there to provide backup. It was just her and Swift Wind.

“Do the wings! Do the wings!” Swift Wind pleaded.

“How do I do that?” Adora shouted. If he was that desperate about her using these wings, then they must have some benefit to them.

“I have no idea! Look inside yourself and dig deep, or something!” Swift Wind cried. The soldiers were getting a bit too close for comfort now, with several making strikes at Swift Wind and Adora. Oddly enough, no blows seemed to land on the horse. Any weapon that made contact glanced off like his body was made of tough metal. Adora was about to get hurt, though. She couldn’t block these hits with her shield forever. She had to try whatever this wing thing was, and there was no time like the present. _Wings, wings, wings,_ she thought, trying to concentrate. _Come on, wings!_

At last, something clicked, for she felt a new power stir inside her. Unlike the gifts from her warlock pact, this was something that didn’t come from Grayskull. Rather, it came from within her. She felt her armor screech as two holes were torn in the back, letting out huge skeletal wings that unfurled to their full extent. Her eyes darkened until they were pools of black, and when she spoke it came out an octave deeper than her normal voice. “How dare you attack these people? Now you will _pay,”_ she roared.

Something about the wings seemed to spark a deep, unnatural terror within the Horde soldiers surrounding her, for they buckled under the might of her wrath as she tore through the mob, Swift Wind whinnying in defiance. Tendrils of dark energy erupted from Adora and battered the soldiers circling her, sending them stumbling and groaning as their very life force withered. One by one, the soldiers turned and ran until she was chasing every last soldier out of the settlement. They went screaming into the woods, as far away as they could from the horrifying woman with the big sword and the horse that couldn’t be wounded.

“Well, that was… terrifying. I did _not_ expect it to go like that. You were amazing back there! I’m definitely looking forward to going on adventures and stuff with you,” Swift Wind declared. 

“What was that? How did I do that?” Adora spoke, breathless. 

“It’s an aasimar thing. You get used to it,” the horse replied coolly. “Now what?”

“Now we have to make sure that they never bother Plumeria or its people again,” Adora said, resolute. They made their way back to where the civilians had been evacuated to. By the time they got there, the wings had receded and her eyes and voice had gone back to normal. She saw Glimmer, Perfuma, and Bow running up to her, concerned.

“Are you alright?”

“What happened back there?”

“Are the soldiers gone?”

“Yeah, I took care of them,” Adora said. “But we have to make sure they won’t come back. We have to take the fight to them.”

“What do you have in mind?” Perfuma asked.

“We’re going to find their encampment and drive them out. That way, the forest will never be hurt by them again.”

Adora got up on a fallen tree that let her see the entirety of Plumeria’s people and yelled, “Hey! Listen up!” The crowd went silent and turned to her.

“Who are you?”

“Why do you have the Sword of Protection?”

“Where’s She-Ra?”

“I _am_ She-Ra,” Adora declared. She willed her more “heroic” look to come back, then went back to her normal appearance. “I’m sorry I lied to you. I thought if I came to your settlement looking like that, then you’d think more highly of me. I was so caught up with looking the part of She-Ra that I forgot that wasn’t what mattered. What matters is how I choose to act.”

The crowd rumbled with dissent, upset that they had been deceived. When it looked like there was about to be an outburst, Perfuma called, “Wait!” Now in her human form once again, she climbed up alongside Adora. “Yes, Adora wasn’t completely honest at first. But that was only because she was worried that she wasn’t worthy to be taken seriously if she didn’t look like the She-Ra from the old tales. But look at what she’s done for us. She just saved our home. She drove out the evil Horde soldiers who attacked us. She’s a hero, no matter what she looks like. Her heart is pure, and she wants to make sure that we are safe from the threat that is the Horde.”

Hearing this, the Plumerians looked more pacified now that their princess had defended the girl. Perhaps she was worth listening to, after all. Perfuma was correct, she _did_ just help drive out the invading forces that terrorized their home.

“For too long, the Horde has been a menace to your kingdom. They’ve been hurting the forest, driving out the darkest of monsters to attack you. Because of them, you lost your old home. But no longer. Today, it’s time to take a stand against the Horde. Today, it’s time to make sure they leave you alone for good. I’m going out there to find the Horde encampment and stop them, but I can’t do it alone. It’s up to you, the citizens of Plumeria, as well, to stop the evil at your doorstep. You may think yourselves too weak to face them, but if we all stand united, we are stronger than anything the Horde throws at us. Will you fight with me? Will you fight to defend your kingdom?”

A sweeping cheer was her answer as the crowd went wild. No more would they stand by while the filth that was the Horde destroyed their home. With this new She-Ra, who their princess had vouched for, they would finally be rid of the evil that plagued them. The time was nigh for battle. 

“Come, my people!” Perfuma cried, raising her staff above her head. “The Plumerians are going to war!”

The townsfolk went back to their wrecked home to grab anything they could use as weapons, then they delved into the forest. And so the people of Plumeria marched to war. Perhaps they were marching to their doom, but even so, they would no longer stand for the crimes the Horde were committing against nature. It was time to rise up against their enemy. It was time to take a stand. 

Adora, Bow, and Glimmer marched at the head, with Perfuma walking alongside. She, knowing the location of the Horde forces through scouts, was leading them through the woods to them. Glimmer spoke softly for about ten minutes as they walked, muttering words of encouragement that seemed to bolster their resolve. They rode in silence after that until they reached their final destination, the Horde’s base of operations in Plumeria. It was a sizable complex, with the surrounding area blocked off by a metal barrier. 

“So what’s the plan, exactly?” Bow asked.

“Destroy the camp. Save Plumeria,” Adora said.

“Uh, yeah, cool, but about the actual plan-” Bow was too late, for Adora was already moving forward. She urged Swift Wind into a full gallop as she raced toward the camp, crying “For Etheria!”

“Hold on tight,” Swift Wind shouted as he crashed into the barrier full force. The thin metal wall crumpled under the weight of his charge, and Adora burst into the encampment. Soldiers who had been reeling from the shock of the failed attack now scrambled to react to the woman on a horse who had just _smashed through a wall_ like it was nothing. She was followed by the people of Plumeria who poured into the camp like a vengeful tsunami after her, intent on protecting their home. They crashed against the unsuspecting Horde troops, who had been completely unprepared for further combat. Perfuma was right in the thick of battle, using her staff as a weapon as she knocked down soldiers left and right. Her staff glowed with nature’s power as she spun it around expertly, smacking a Horde soldier right in the face. “I’ve never felt so alive!” she yelled at the top of her lungs. 

Adora ripped through the encampment on Swift Wind’s back, splitting open buildings with her sword and blasting things with her crackling beams. She wanted to ruin this place so they could never use it to disturb the forest again. Any soldier in her path was quickly cut down by her blade or by Glimmer or Bow, who flanked her protectively. “You come up with a plan for the settlement, but not for this?” Bow shouted at Adora. "Sorry! Heat of the moment and all that!" she yelled back as she took on more foes. The fight was turning more and more in their favor as their people swept through the camp. The Horde forces didn't stand a chance. 

Adora saw one of the soldiers who looked more decorated than the rest, probably the one in charge. She jumped off of Swift Wind, walked up to the soldier, and grabbed them by the collar. “Plumeria is under the Rebellion’s protection now,” she said as she lifted them up into the air, an impressive display of strength. “You are to leave and _never_ return. Got it?” They nodded so hard Adora thought it was amazing their helmet didn’t come flying off. She loosened her grip on the leader and shoved them away. “Retreat!” the officer cried, sprinting out of the camp. Any soldier still standing was quick to act on that order, abandoning the place at incredible speed. The sounds of fighting faded into silence as the battle ended. The Plumerians had won.

Cheers went up as they realized their victory. They had triumphed against the Horde! This was cause for celebration. The crowd swept Adora off of her feet, chanting “She-Ra! She-Ra! She-Ra!” Adora had to fight off a blush as she floated on top of the crowd. Bow and Glimmer looked on, proud of their friend. At last, they put Adora down to return to their home. There was rebuilding to be done, but tonight they were going to throw a party with what they had. Perfuma approached Adora, smiling, and said, “Thank you. For making us realize we could fight. For giving us hope. I wasn’t too sure before, but now I’m certain of my decision. We of Plumeria stand with the Princess Alliance.” She raised her voice at the last sentence, and judging by the Plumerians’ reaction, they heartily agreed.

When everyone got back to the settlement, the townspeople broke out what party supplies survived the attack and threw a massive celebration. To Adora’s delight, they had even more new, delicious foods to try. Swift Wind was enraptured by the party, similar to Adora’s reaction to Thaymor’s festival, which was kind of adorable. At some point, someone had given him a flower wreath to wear, and he wore it with pride. They sang and danced until the sun went down, drunk on victory. 

“Not bad, Adora,” Glimmer said as they winded down. “Not bad at all. So much for needing that new look.”

“Yeah, you killed it today,” Bow agreed. “But I mean it, please never go charging in without a plan again.”

“Sorry, Bow, sorry,” Adora said. “I promise I _definitely_ won’t be charging in like that again.”

Bow just grunted disbelievingly, but a tired smile grew on his face.

“Oh, hey, Perfuma, is there anyone who can return us to Bright Moon?” Glimmer asked Perfuma as she saw her passing by. “We don’t want to overstay our welcome, and I’m sure my dad probably wants us home as soon as possible.”

“Well, I don’t think you’d be overstaying your welcome at all; the people would love to have you for a few days. But I understand. I’ll grab someone who can help,” Perfuma said.

They watched as she brought over a wizened old woman clutching a book that appeared to be made of leaves. Perfuma whispered something in her ear, and she muttered something incomprehensible before beginning to draw the glyphs of a teleportation circle. 

“So, what are you going to do now?” Bow inquired.

“Well, now that the Horde is gone, I think it’s time to reclaim our old home. After that, we’ll see,” she answered.

“So I guess this is goodbye,” Adora spoke.

“Only goodbye for now,” Perfuma promised. “I think we’ll see each other very soon.”

“Thank you so much for, you know, everything,” Adora said.

Perfuma grinned. “Any time.”

“If you ever need us for anything, let us know,” Glimmer said.

“We’ll be there,” Bow finished.

Perfuma nodded her thanks as the older woman completed the glyphs and the circle flared to life. They took one last look at their new friend, the Princess of Plumeria, and then she was gone.

The trio appeared back in the castle where the exit teleportation circle was carved into the floor. They were met by the sight of King Micah, who looked like he had been fighting sleep before they arrived. It _was_ rather late at night, after all. He started awake at their arrival, then a big smile appeared on his face. “You’ve returned! I wanted to wait here in case you were back so soon, and now I’m glad I did. How did it go?”

The Best Friend Squad all looked at each other, then looked at King Micah.

“It went really well, Dad.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me: Hmmm I want to include Swift Wind in this story, but what should he be? A normal horse isn't good enough, a pegasus kinda works but it can't talk, and something like a kirin is way too powerful. Whatever shall I do?  
> me: *Reads the Monster Manual and comes upon a certain creature.*  
> me: *laughs maniacally* Oh that'll do. That'll do.
> 
> Well, that was probably the most attempts at humor I've written in a chapter so far, complete with a communism joke. Plus there was a LotR reference sprinkled in for fun.
> 
> SPELL LIST  
> "With a shout in Celestial, she disappeared from the vines in a puff of pink smoke." Glimmer used Misty Step  
> "She reappeared a few feet away and blasted the nearest twig monster with radiant energy, sending it flying apart." Glimmer used Sacred Flame  
> "...Glimmer cast a healing spell on herself." Glimmer used Cure Wounds  
> "Her eyes widened as she saw her disguised self." Adora maintained Disguise Self  
> "Suddenly, the petals opened, revealing the beautiful colors within." Perfuma used Druidcraft  
> "Glimmer had begun blasting at any soldier she saw with magic..." Glimmer used Sacred Flame multiple times  
> "...her body covered in a blue protective force." Glimmer used Mage Armor  
> "Tendrils of dark energy erupted from Adora..." Adora used Arms of Hadar  
> "She willed her more 'heroic' look to come back..." Adora used Disguise Self  
> "Her staff glowed with nature’s power as she spun it around expertly..." Perfuma used Shillelagh  
> "...and blasting things with her crackling beams." Adora used Eldritch Blast multiple times  
> "...the older woman completed the glyphs and the circle flared to life." Random Tree Wizard Lady used Teleportation Circle


	8. Sea Hawk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Best Friend Squad goes to a tavern. They do a little sailing and meet a princess and a certain sailor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YEEEAAAHHHH it's finally time for my boy Sea Hawk! I really hope I did his character justice, he was one of my favorites from the show. And I couldn't resist including his song, it's just too good. Honestly, The Sea Gate was the episode that officially had me hooked to She-Ra. Also according to the wiki, his birthday is a day after posting this, so that's pretty cool.

“Well, that’s not good,” King Micah mused. He was stooped over the glyphs that were intended to take them to Salineas, the kingdom of the Tritons. He had drawn them like normal, but something was wrong. There was no flash of light, no magic happening, and the people he was supposed to be transporting were still there, looking at him quizzically.

“Uh, what’s wrong?” Bow broke the silence.

“Something’s interfering with the magic of the teleportation circles. I don’t think there’s any problem on our side of things, so that must mean there’s trouble with the teleportation circle in Salineas.”

“Is there anything we can do about it?” Adora asked.

“Well, not from here. We’d either have to sit tight and wait for them to fix things on their end, or you can travel by boat to get there. It would take longer, of course, but it’s a viable option.”

“Would we get to go to an _inn?”_ Bow whispered, hopeful.

King Micah sighed. “I don’t see why not.”

“Yes!” he cried, throwing his fist in the air. “By boat we shall go!”

“Isn’t this kind of a group decision, Bow?” Glimmer asked. “We all have to agree on this.”

“Oh, yeah,” Bow said, a bit deflated. He looked up at his companions sheepishly. “Can we go by boat this time?”

“Something’s wrong in Salineas. If they’re in trouble, then they might never be able to fix their circle in time. We need to get to them as soon as possible, and a boat’s our best bet,” Adora declared.

They looked at Glimmer, who seemed a bit annoyed that their method of instant travel was currently on the fritz. “Fine,” she sighed, resigned. Bow did a little dance as he spun in a circle, his delight obvious.

King Micah looked past them to lay eyes on Swift Wind, who was muttering something about how there were no chairs for horses in the castle to himself. “Is… _he_ going with you?” he asked.

“Of course I am! What would Adora do without me, her loyal steed?” Swift Wind shouted. “Wherever she is going, I’m going too! But seriously, I wasn’t paying attention. Where are we going?”

King Micah put a hand to his face and sighed again, irritated. “Salineas. The sea kingdom. Populated by Tritons. Glimmer, Adora, and Bow will be travelling by boat to get there, since the circle is having difficulties.”

“Huh. Sea kingdom. Not a huge fan of boats,” Swift Wind said. “Oh well, I’ll figure something out.”

"Right. You do that, then," King Micah said, wanting the horse out of the castle as soon as possible.

“Well, we should probably get going,” Glimmer said, trying to relieve the tension between the two.

“Yes,” King Micah agreed. “I’ll get you directions to some nearby docks. Go to one of the taverns-” Bow’s eyes lit up at the word. “- so you can find a captain to take you there. Get to Salineas, find out what’s happening, help any way you can, and hopefully recruit Princess Mermista into the Princess Allaince.”

“We won’t let you down, Your Majesty,” Adora promised.

King Micah smiled at them, proud. “I know you won’t,” he said.

The trio, along with Swift Wind, filed out of the room to grab their gear before departing. As Adora and Swift Wind walked together, he said, “You know, I get the sense he doesn’t really like me.”

“Well, it’s not every day a talking mostly-horse walks into your kingdom. And besides, you _did_ scare him half to death when you popped out from my shoulder as a frog and started talking,” Adora replied. 

“I was just trying to introduce myself. And I thought you guys were about to leave me behind! That circle didn’t look big enough for a horse.”

“It was a pretty big circle.”

“I was guesstimating on the fly. Sue me.”

“How did you even _do_ that? Turn into something else?”

“Now I know this might be shocking,” Swift Wind said. “You might want to sit down for this. But-” he lowered his head to Adora and dropped his voice to a whisper, as if he was sharing top secret information. “- _I’m kind of magic.”_

“You don’t say,” Adora deadpanned. “I never would have figured it out.”

“Hey, give yourself some credit, kid! You would have-” his expression dropped. “Wait, that was sarcasm.”

Adora laughed. “So you’re some kind of shapeshifter?”

“Among other things,” Swift Wind replied. “I know some magic too. I’ve also got this poison in my mouth that puts people to sleep for a day if I bite them.”

“Oh… ok. What’s your true form? Or are you actually a horse?”

His expression became a bit more guarded. “Uh, would you be mad at me if that’s… kind of a secret? I prefer being a horse, but it’s not actually what I am. It’s kind of a big deal for my kind to show their true forms. Like, a _last_ last resort thing. Please don’t be upset?” He looked genuinely afraid that Adora would yell at him.

“Hey, hey, it’s ok,” Adora reassured him, patting his head. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.”

“Yeah, yeah, it’s cool,” he spoke. “Maybe one day? But not today.”

“Fine by me,” Adora said.

She walked into her room and grabbed her things as Swift Wind waited outside. The two of them walked out and met up with Bow and Glimmer. “Ready to go?” she asked them.

They looked her over and looked like they might be trying not to laugh.

“Yeah, _we_ are,” Bow said.

“Are you sure there’s nothing you’re forgetting?” Glimmer asked, fighting back an amused smile.

Adora’s eyes widened as she realized what they were talking about. _Oh._ She hadn’t told them about her talks with Grayskull the previous nights. They didn’t know about the state of the sword. Well, no time like the present. She smiled and remarked, “Nope, I don’t think I forgot anything at all.” She willed the Sword of Protection to appear and with a flash, it manifested in her hand. Glimmer and Bow both gave a start as suddenly Adora had her weapon in hand.

“That was _so cool!”_ Bow gasped.

“How did you do that?” Glimmer asked.

“Grayskull showed me how,” Adora explained. “He’s been teaching me. New spells, and also abilities like the new look I had for a bit. I can’t do that anymore, though. I didn’t want it after Plumeria.”

“Understandable,” Bow said, nodding. “That’s amazing, Adora. It’s super convenient, being able to will your sword in and out of existence.”

“Well, it’s more like I’m pulling it out of and shunting it into an extradimensional space, but yeah, it is pretty helpful,” Adora admitted.

They heard footsteps and turned to see King Micah running towards them, carrying something in his hands. “Wait! Before you go,” he cried. He ran up to Glimmer, panting slightly, and pressed the object into her hands. They saw it was a small, leather-wrapped tome, similar in appearance to King Micah’s spell book. “For you,” he said. “Read it on the way. Learn the spells. You can even add new ones you find to it. They should be of use to you.”

“Wow,” Glimmer said. “Thanks, Dad.”

He smiled. “Here to help. Now good luck. Be safe. And don’t forget to use the sending stone every night.”

“I will, Dad, I promise. We’ll be alright.”

They set out from Bright Moon, Adora riding Swift Wind and Bow and Glimmer using horses of their own from the castle stables. The teleportation circle would have gotten them to Salineas in an instant. This was going to take a tenday, or maybe even longer, the time on the boat included. As they traveled, the group learned a little more about each other. 

Bow talked about growing up in his fathers’ library in the Whispering Woods with twelve older siblings, and how they had been hired to work at the castle. He talked about meeting Glimmer and the shenanigans they got up to when they were little. 

Glimmer, in turn, shared some of her happier memories of her mother and father. She talked about using magic for the first time, what a thrill it was. She talked about the day her father came home without her mother. She got quiet after that.

Adora found herself opening up a bit about her time in the Horde, and a few memories from the orphanage. One night, she decided it was time to tell them about the one other person she had considered her family. “When I was in the orphanage, I only really had one friend,” she started. “A girl named Catra. We were inseparable as kids; we did everything together. I was never as close to anyone as I was with her. No matter what happened, we were there for each other. Through everything. But then the Horde came. The day started out normal enough, but in the afternoon we heard yelling. Screaming. Soldiers poured into the orphanage and took everyone out. They were led by this terrifying man, someone I would find out later to be Lord Hordak.” Bow and Glimmer gasped at the mention of his name. “He took a special interest in me. Said I was special. I didn’t know why until Grayskull. But then he got into a fight with this... horrible woman. She wanted me as well, but he wouldn’t let her. ‘Take the other one,’ he said. ‘Make use of her instead. There’s talent in her as well.’ And… he was talking about Catra.” Adora was starting to cry now. “The woman grabbed her and then they were gone. She was taken away from me, to the Guild of Shadows, and I haven’t seen her since.” Bow and Glimmer offered their sympathies.

“Well, maybe we can find her,” Bow said. “She can join the Rebellion, and we can all be happy together.”

“Thanks, Bow, but I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Adora said. “I tried reaching out to her for years, tried getting her messages. She never responded to any of them. Wherever she is, I don’t think she wants me in her life anymore.”

“Well, that’s dumb,” Glimmer said. “You’re a fantastic person. You’re strong. You’re brave. You’re kind. If she can’t see that after all the time you two spent together, then she’s a fool. I’m proud to know you. I’m proud to call you my friend.”

 _What did I do to deserve these people?_ Adora thought as she was pulled into a group hug.

She also told them her side of the story of meeting the two of them, talking about the fall, Madame Razz, the temple, and meeting Grayskull for the first time. Glimmer and Bow were surprised that neither of them had ever heard of an old woman like that in the forest. Swift Wind, who had never heard the story of them meeting, hung on to every word as she talked.

Now, the horse mostly talked everyone’s ears off about government and the superiority of apples as a snack, so much so that Adora feared Glimmer was going to smack him with her staff, but he offered experiences of his own as well. He spoke of meeting Perfuma for the first time, a crying little girl who had found her way into his clearing. He also spoke of the times he befriended wandering travelers who happened upon him and gave them directions to safety.

The first night when they made camp in the wilderness due to the lack of any establishment nearby to rest in, Glimmer was less than enthusiastic about sleeping in such conditions. Nevertheless, she was soon setting up her own sleeping arrangements in their camp, grumbling about sleeping on the hard ground. She began casting a spell from the book King Micah had given her once she had finished up, and a silver line appeared around them in a cube shape. It flashed once then went dark.

“It’s a spell in the book,” Glimmer explained. “It’ll let us know if someone else tries to sneak up on us.”

Luckily, they slept soundly during their time on the road. They rode until they came upon their destination in the afternoon, a seaside tavern overlooking docks that held countless ships. Some were obviously more well-kept than others, with some looking brand new and some looking like they were one tap away from breaking into pieces. They all paused for a moment to take in the sight. None of them had ever been to the ocean before, so it was a new experience. A salty smell hit their noses as they watched waves crash against the docks and the shore.

“It’s… pretty,” Adora said.

“Yeah,” Bow agreed.

“It smells weird,” Swift Wind remarked.

“Sightseeing later, guys. Let’s find a captain,” Glimmer said.

They led the horses to a nearby stable and paid for them to stay there. Swift Wind had vehemently protested, switching to talking in their minds as he had been warned not to speak in front of strangers, but the trio was insistent. So he was put, sulking, into the stable with the rest of the horses. _This is unbearable,_ he complained. _I almost miss my clearing._

After the horses had been taken care of, they made their way into the nearest tavern, Bow quietly shrieking in excitement. The place had warm lighting and a welcoming atmosphere. It was a bit grungy and falling apart, but all in all not bad. The place was loud with chatter as sailors sat around tables, telling stories and draining tankards bigger than Adora’s head in one go. A stage was in the corner, but no one was performing at the moment.

“Is it everything you were hoping for?” Adora asked Bow teasingly.

“ _Everything and more,”_ Bow whispered back.

Glimmer approached the barkeep as she sat polishing glasses.

“Can I help you?” the barkeep asked.

“We’re looking for a captain to take us to Salineas,” Glimmer answered.

The barkeep grunted, then her eyes flicked to something behind Glimmer. “Him,” she said, pointing past her. Glimmer spun to see where the barkeep was pointing to see a well-built half elf man walking up on the stage. He looked like an authentic pirate, with a black headband, a red bandana around his neck, a white shirt with a blue jacket, and leather boots that went up past his knees. Much of his clothing was accented with gold. At his side, slid through a loop in his belt, was a rapier with intricate carvings of flames etched into the metal. He was carrying a lute in his hands as he took center stage, stroking his elegant brown mustache. He strummed a few notes, and the crowd went silent, waiting. Adora, Glimmer, and Bow found an empty table to watch.

“Greetings! I am the one and only Sea Hawk, and I will be in charge today of giving you the best entertainment of your lives. For those unable to handle the sheer awesomeness of my performance, I suggest you leave now, for it is not suited for those of weak hearts,” the performer announced with a mirthful grin. No one made a move to leave. A few coughs broke the silence, but everyone was now looking at him mostly with disdain. “Excellent! Now without further adieu, let us begin. I bet this first song is one you all know well, so feel free to sing along.”

He began humming a tune that most of the crowd seemed to recognize, except for Adora, Glimmer, and Bow. Sea Hawk opened his mouth and began to perform a melodious shanty. A resonant voice poured out of his mouth as he burst into song.

_“Beware, beware the Daughter of the Sea.”_

_“Beware,” I heard him cry._

_His words carried upon the ocean breeze,_

_As he sank beneath the tide._

He started strumming on his lute, adding its sound to the tune. The combination of the lute and his voice created an otherworldly quality to the music, and the crowd leaned in. A few voices were beginning to murmur along.

_Those blood-soaked shores of Kalimdor,_

_Where sailors fought and died._

_The Admiral fell at Theramore,_

_Because she left his side._

More people started to join in, and a few people full-on bellowed the lyrics at that point. Somebody had found more instruments somewhere and joined in on Sea Hawk’s performance. Whatever song he was singing, it was clear it was something every sailor here knew by heart. Glimmer looked unimpressed, but Adora was swaying her head to the beat. Bow looked absolutely captivated.

_Why this? Why this, oh Daughter of the Sea?_

_Why this? Did you forget your seaside days?_

_Always the pride of our nation’s eyes,_

_How could she go astray?_

_When she did flee across the ocean deep,_

_The Admiral followed west._

_What else but sail to save a daughter’s life,_

_And pray she still drew breath?_

_But there he found upon those distant shores,_

_Enemies ’pon the rise!_

_But when he faced those savage foes_

_His daughter stood aside._

_And buried deep beneath the waves,_

_Betrayed by family._

_To his nation, with his last breath, cried,_

_“Beware the Daughter of the Sea.”_

Sea Hawk played a few more songs after that, and it was clear that his favor with the crowd had shifted considerably to the positive end by the time he had finished. He had a way with music that won over the crowd, and Adora was impressed with his ability. She wondered if he was a bard like the woman from Thaymor. With a voice and skills like his, she doubted very much that he wasn’t.

At last, his performance came to an end, and he was met with thunderous applause. He beamed as he bowed repeatedly before stepping off the stage to get a drink. He flirted with the barkeep a bit before she said something to him and pointed to where Adora, Glimmer, and Bow sat. He made his way over to their table and spun the chair backwards before plopping himself down. “Greetings friends,” he began. He looked the three over, taking in their appearance. He gave a little start as his eyes went to Adora. “Pupil-less eyes, don’t see that every day,” she heard him mutter. He then raised his voice again as he continued, smiling, “So, word is that you’re looking for a captain to take you to Salineas. I must say, you’ve come to the right place. Look no further, for I, Sea Hawk, am the greatest sailor in the land.”

“You’re a sea captain as well as a performer?” Glimmer asked, disbelieving.

“Is it a crime for a man to have multiple passions?” Sea Hawk asked. “Yes, I’m a captain with my own ship."

“That’s so cool!” Bow said. Sea Hawk’s smile grew wider at the praise.

“So, Captain Sea Hawk, what exactly are your qualifications?” Glimmer asked with forced politeness. It was clear she was not a fan of this man.

“Does my reputation not precede me? Surely you know of the exploits of yours truly,” Sea Hawk said with a cocky smile. Seeing the looks on their faces, his expression dropped. “You… don’t know about me?” he asked, wounded.

“Should we?” Adora asked.

Sea Hawk scoffed incredulously. “I once ran the 50-klick Galebreath Gauntlet in less than 20 klicks. I maneuvered the Serpentine with nary a chip in the paint of my bow. My shanties are considered so desirable, sirens fling _themselves_ into the sea at the sound of them. And, because I can tell you’re wondering, my mustache is naturally shiny,” Sea Hawk boasted, his bravado returning. It was clear he enjoyed talking about himself very much.

“It _is_ ,” Bow realized, taking a closer look. “You’re hired!” That earned him an elbow from Glimmer. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. I’d take you, but only if you have the money. What makes you think you can afford me?” Sea Hawk asked, a bit patronizing.

“I assure you, Sea Hawk, _even if we were thinking of hiring you,_ money is no object,” Glimmer replied.

Sea Hawk’s expression indicated he doubted that very much. “Behold my fee,” he declared, pulling out a piece of paper and sliding it over to Glimmer. She read it and her face paled.

“I retract my earlier statement. Forget this, let’s just find another sea captain,” she said, getting up from the table.

Sea Hawk let out a sharp laugh. “Good luck with that,” he said. “No one can sail the treacherous route to Salineas as well as I do, for I know it like the back of my hand. I brave it often to visit my _close personal friend,_ Princess Mermista.”

Glimmer turned back to him. “You know her?”

“Do I?” Sea Hawk laughed. “I’ll have you know-”

Adora smacked her hand down upon the table, causing Sea Hawk to jump. She had had enough of this guy’s attitude. It was time to get things done. He looked at her as she said, “Ok, here’s the deal. How about a little wager? Sailors like wagers, right? Let’s have an arm wrestling match. We go one round, and the winner takes all. You win, we leave you alone. I win, you take us to Salineas, free of charge.” She raised her hand in invitation.

Sea Hawk examined her. “Do you think you can goad me into agreeing to that terrible deal just because I enjoy wagers like any good sailor?” He stared at her for a few seconds, offended. “Because you can!” He grabbed her arm, accepting the challenge.

“You’re sure about this?” Glimmer asked.

“Oh, definitely,” Adora confirmed.

“Let him have it, then,” Glimmer said, putting her hand on Adora’s shoulder. Adora felt a strange surge of energy rush into her body at that moment.

“Ready? Begin!” Bow shouted.

They then furiously attempted to force each other’s hands down. Sea Hawk was a worthy opponent, Adora would give him that. She wasn’t sure she was going to beat him at first. The fact that he kept trying to smack-talk her certainly wasn’t helping her concentration. But whatever Glimmer had done to her had boosted her strength so that she wasn’t giving ground. She slowly managed to force his arm further and further down until at last she slammed in onto the table.

“Yeah, Adora!” Bow cried.

“Good work,” Glimmer said. Adora looked at her, searching, but couldn’t find any trace of regret in her eyes. In fact, she looked rather smug. In contrast, Sea Hawk looked particularly upset at this turn of events as he rubbed his hand.

“Well, truth be told, I let you win so as to- ahem- boost your confidence. I’ve been wanting to go to Salineas anyway.” he said as he stood up, his voice wavering. “A deal’s a deal, rushed and unfair as it was. Come on, kids, with me! Forward to _adventure!_ ” He had done a complete 180 in mood over the course of a few seconds, now looking rather excited at the prospect of the journey ahead. “Now let’s go to the docks!”

As they made their way to Sea Hawk’s ship, Adora whispered to Glimmer, “What was that back there?”

“Just a little new magic I learned.”

“Isn’t that cheating?”

“He was being rude. He had it coming.”

“That’s a bit harsh. I could have won without it.”

“Better safe than sorry. Besides, if he really knows Mermista and he can put his money where his mouth is, then he'll be useful to have along.”

Adora wasn’t sure she was too comfortable about that, but what's done was done.

“We have arrived!” Sea Hawk called out to them. “Behold- the _Dragon’s Daughter Three!”_ Before them stood a beautiful sloop with white silvery-white sails and a gray and gold wooden hull.

“What happened to the other two?” Adora asked.

“Tragically, they went down in flames,” Sea Hawk said, somber.

“How did that happen?” Bow inquired, eyes wide.

A proud grin grew on Sea Hawk’s face as he announced, “I set them on fire. Now, _adventure!_ ” He drew his rapier and with a word, it burst into flames. He pointed it forward at the horizon for a few moments, painfully close to several flammable objects, then puffed out the flames with another word. He worked on readying the ship to sail and soon they were off.

“Are we sure about this guy?” Adora questioned.

“He just has to get us there,” Glimmer responded. It felt like she was trying to convince herself more than anything.

“Now, friends, let’s get going to- By the Gates! Why is there a _horse_ on my ship?”

They all turned to see Swift Wind standing on the deck of the ship. “Hey guys! You found a ship, that’s good!”

 _“Why is the horse talking?”_ Sea Hawk shrieked.

“Oh, yeah, right. Oops. Not supposed to do that. I mean, what talking horse? I didn’t say anything.”

“Swift Wind!” Adora cried. “You’re not supposed to be here!”

“The stable sucked! It was _boring,_ it was _cold,_ they didn’t give us _nearly_ enough hay; No way was I going to sit there and let you go headfirst into danger. I’m your loyal steed. I go where you go, did you forget?” Swift Wind protested.

Adora put her face in her hands with a groan. “Fine, just… change into something smaller.”

With a pop, Swift Wind was now a small bird. “Better?” he asked.

“Better,” Adora confirmed. She looked over to Sea Hawk, who for once looked at an utter loss for words. “He’s my… companion,” she awkwardly explained as Swift Wind flapped up to sit on her shoulder.

Sea Hawk just nodded silently as he took in the sight before him. “Even after all these years, the world is still full of surprises,” he said at last. “Well, I’d have it no other way! Come with me, strange and wondrous talking horse-bird-thing! Tell me everything about yourself.”

“Well, it all started when I was hatched from my egg…” Swift Wind began as he flew over to Sea Hawk, who was rushing about the ship and performing various tasks. 

Sea Hawk looked up at the trio as they stood watching. “Are you going to help? You’re still going to have to pull your weight around here.”

“Uh... “ Glimmer said, embarrassed.

“We’ve never sailed before,” Adora admitted.

“But if you teach us we can help,” Bow offered.

The captain sighed, then got to work showing them the ropes, figuratively and literally. For all his bluster earlier, Sea Hawk was a surprisingly good instructor. He was patient to explain everything and took special care to ensure the three understood what he was trying to teach them. Swift Wind watched them, saying he would be there for emotional support, as Sea Hawk pestered him with questions. Soon enough, they were working like they’d been on the _Dragon’s Daughter Three_ for years. Sea Hawk looked on like a proud parent. 

After a while at sea, the eccentric half elf had grown on them. Even Glimmer seemed to tolerate him now. Adora and Sea Hawk made a habit of arm-wrestling when they weren’t working while Bow cheered them on, and both did pretty well for themselves. Now that there was no outside help for either party, they were pretty evenly matched. Adora had the advantage of superior strength, but Sea Hawk had years of experience on his side. He had also been attempting to teach Bow how to play one of his instruments, the viol. They would hear him screech on that thing at any spare moment, practicing. The sea captain even set up performances for the group every once in a while, if he didn’t just burst into song on the spot. His favorite one, of course, was the one he had written about himself. It went a little something like this:

_Ohhhh!_

_I am Sea Hawk, I am, I am._

_If you're looking for adventure,_

_Then I am your man._

_If you want to ride_

_On the waves of deepest blue,_

_Through perilous winds,_

_Then I got you._

_Some say I'm a hero,_

_Some say I'm a man,_

_What I know for sure is_

_I'm Sea Hawk, I am, I am._

_Adventure!_

At one point, Adora went up to him and directly asked him if he was a bard. “Like I said, I’m many things. Sailor, adventurer, performer, bard, et cetera; I’m a multi-faceted individual,” his response had been. “I’m pretty handy in most situations: I sail, I play, I do magic, I even buckle some swashes here and there. All the good things.”

As they worked one morning, Adora noticed a tattoo on the back of Sea Hawk’s neck: a circle of thunderbolts surrounding a storm cloud. When asked about it, he said, “It’s the symbol of the Tempest Gate. A lot of sailors have tattoos like mine, since we more or less adopted it as our own. It goes hand in hand with our way of life, after all.”

“Oh. I know a Cleric of the Tempest Gate! Her name is Spinnerella, she’s really nice.”

Sea Hawk’s eyes threatened to pop out of his skull. “You _what?_ A- a Cleric? Who _are_ you people?”

“We’re with the Rebellion. The reason we’re going to Salineas is to recruit Princess Mermista for the Princess Alliance,” Adora explained.

“Sounds like quite an adventure,” Sea Hawk mused. “An aasimar, a human, and a half elf. A motley bunch, but that often makes for the best tale.”

“I guess- wait, you knew I was an aasimar?”

“How could I not?” Sea Hawk replied, laughing. “I read my fair share of stories growing up. Your kind are prominent in all the old legends, so of course I would recognize one on sight. You don’t exactly keep a low profile. It’s little things, like how your irises start going black when you’re worked up and how you don’t have a tan at all even after how long we’ve been out here for. Also I’ve seen you covered in shade when you’re standing directly under the sun. You’re one of the darker types, I assume?”

Huh. Adora had never noticed these things about herself. “Um, yes?” How would he react to that? He wasn’t about to throw her off the ship, was he?

“Well, you seem nice enough, so I guess you’re not one of those ones bent on serving evil,” he said, allaying her fears. “And there have been adventures starring fallen aasimar as heroes in history before. There was this one story with one- what was her name again? It started with a Y… Anyways, I trust your quest is a valiant one.”

“Huh. Thanks, I guess.” Adora said. “Hey, can I ask you a question?”

“You just did,” Sea Hawk pointed out.

“I want to ask you something,” Adora continued, unimpressed with Sea Hawk's wit. “What about the other Gates, besides the Tempest? I only really know the absolute basics about them.”

“Well, there’s twelve of them total, first off. You’ve got the six Greater Gates and the six Lesser Gates,” Sea Hawk explained. “There’s the Tempest Gate, of course, then the… the…” He trailed off as he struggled to remember. “ _Come on Sea Hawk, you know this!”_ he hissed quietly to himself.

“The Greater Gates are the Tempest, Life, Light, Nature, Death, and Arcana Gates. The Lesser Gates are the Forge, War, Grave, Trickery, Knowledge, and Order Gates,” Glimmer finished for him as she walked up.

“Oh, come on!” Sea Hawk cried. “I would have gotten it eventually!”

“The Greater Gates came first, and they revolve around the elements of the planes. The Lesser Gates came from the emergence of intelligent races, and they revolve around the elements of society,” Glimmer continued. “What made you ask?”

“She saw my awesome tattoo!” Sea Hawk stated, a bit upset at having been shown up. “And I was about to explain before you _stole my thunder!”_

“Sorry, Sea Hawk,” she said, an apologetic smile daring to appear on her face. “Bow says we’re at the hard part. Time for you to take over.”

“Then take over I shall,” Sea Hawk declared. They made their way up to where Bow was steering. He offered it to Sea Hawk, the gesture saying _all yours._ Sea Hawk took the wheel and began to navigate. He hadn’t been lying when he said the route to Salineas was treacherous. The first bit was easy enough, but the last third or so was extremely dangerous, only navigable by an expert sailor. 

Thankfully, Sea Hawk hadn’t been all talk. He expertly wove the ship through the dangerous final stretch of their journey. There were a few close calls, like the several times their ship almost scraped against the many reefs that were numerous in the area, and the one time they had to outmaneuver a massive creature Sea Hawk called a dragon turtle, but they made it through unharmed. Adora had never seen Sea Hawk rattled before, but she would never forget the look on his face when they realized that that nearby island wasn’t an island. “Those things can crush ships between their jaws like they’re nothing,” Sea Hawk explained later. “I’m up for adventure as much as the next person, but some things there’s no chance you’re walking away from. I'm not ready to perish just yet. If we had a bigger boat, on the other hand...”

At last, they reached the kingdom of Salineas. It was a large, sprawling area with glistening white buildings resembling different kinds of seashells. There were even parts of it they saw that went underwater, lights glowing in the deep. In the distance, a massive gate stood, two figures carved from the material the gate was made of. They held metal tridents that crossed as they met above the monument. It was a regal kingdom, but oddly quiet for such a large place.

They docked and got off the boat, walking around. Swift Wind was riding on Adora’s back in frog form. He had been sternly instructed this time to _under no circumstances_ talk to anyone without being introduced first.

“Where is everyone?” Bow asked. It was a valid question, since they had seen exactly zero people since arriving.

“Very odd indeed. If I know the Princess Mermista- and I do- something’s amiss,” Sea Hawk stated.

“You there! Halt! Halt, I say!” they heard a voice and looked up to see a blue-skinned man with fins on the sides of his head running towards them, panting. When he reached them after a few moments of them waiting uncomfortably, he asked, “What’s your business in Salineas?”

“We’ve come to speak with Princess Mermista,” Glimmer declared.

“Tell her Sea Hawk is with them,” Sea Hawk butted in. “She’ll be excited to see me.”

The guard looked unconvinced at Sea Hawk’s statement, seeming to have recognized him, but nevertheless led them up to the palace of Salineas. When they got to the throne room, they saw Princess Mermista for the first time. The triton girl had sea blue skin like the guard and navy-colored hair. Her ears were more human-like, but they became more resembling fins at the tips. She wore teal and gold robes that looked like they would allow her to move easily in a fight, and she had a beautifully-crafted trident by her side. A permanent scowl seemed to be fixed on her face, and when her eyes fell on Sea Hawk the scowl deepened.

“Ew, who let him back here?” she groaned.

“Princess!” Sea Hawk cried, bowing deeply. “Oh, it’s been too long. I have dreamed of you night and day since we parted.”

“Uh huh,” Mermista deadpanned. “And who are you?” Her eyes moved to Adora, Bow, and Glimmer.

Glimmer stepped forward. “My name is Glimmer of Bright Moon. We’ve never met, but our parents fought in the Rebellion together.”

“Oh, yeah,” Mermista said. “I remember hearing about the old Princess Alliance. My dad said it was a total disaster.”

“I didn’t think it was possible but your beauty grows greater with each passing day,” Sea Hawk cut in, walking up to Mermista.

“Will you quit it? I’m trying to talk to my new friend Twinkle,” Mermista complained. Glimmer frowned at that. “Butler, can you bring us some hors d’oeuvres?” The guard who escorted them there pulled out a waiter’s cloth and moved to retrieve some of these _hors d’oeuvres._

“Ooh, hors d’oeuvres!” Sea Hawk cried, scooching himself next to Mermista on her throne.

“For everyone but Sea Hawk,” Mermista added.

“Your guard is also your butler?” Bow asked.

“I’m a little understaffed right now,” Mermista said. “Salineas has had some issues lately.”

“Yeah, about that. We were going to come through the teleportation circle, but my father said there was a problem with it on your end. Can you tell us what happened?” Glimmer enquired.

Mermista sighed. “The Horde’s been a real pain in my side lately. They’ve been attacking nonstop, which is frustrating enough, but they also keep damaging the Sea Gate. You know, the thing that protects Salineas and keeps the Horde out of this area. It’s been kind of falling apart for a while now, and a few days ago a couple of shots even got through it, which naturally smashed right into where the teleportation circle was placed. If they attack us again, we’re pretty much dead.”

That was bad news. If the Horde broke through the Sea Gate, there was no telling how much havoc they could wreak on the surrounding area. Somehow, they had to fix this.

Seeing their faces, Mermista said, “Yeah, I know right? It figures I’d inherit a kingdom that’s crumbling, but it’s totally fine. I’m handling it.”

“Well, you don’t have to handle it alone,” Glimmer said. “We’re here because we want to rebuild the Princess Alliance. Alone, we don’t stand a chance. But together, we can fight them. We can win.”

“Sure, because that worked so great the first time,” Mermista said sarcastically. “Why should I help Bright Moon? It’s not like they’ve done anything for us.”

“Mermista, if I may-” Sea Hawk started, but Mermista cut him off.

“No. I know what you’re about to do. Don't you _dare_ start singing now. Why did you bring him here, he’s _so_ annoying!” she hissed.

“I thought you said she liked you,” Bow said.

“We have a long and complicated history,” Sea Hawk explained.

“If by that you mean you got us kicked out of the Dolphin Social for challenging the doorman to a duel, then sure.”

“I don’t recall doing that.”

“And that time you set our gondola on fire in the Tunnel of Love.”

 _“That_ I do recall.”

“Anyways, how about we help you with the Sea Gate? If that goes, we’re all in serious trouble. Is there any way to fix it?” Bow asked, trying to get the conversation back on track.

“How should I know? It was built a long time ago. Apparently the First Ones were super involved in making it, because the entire thing is _covered_ in their writing. And it’s not like there’s anyone around these days who can read that,” she groaned.

“Actually, there is,” Adora spoke up.

“And who are you again?” Mermista asked.

“That’s Adora. She has a magic sword,” Bow said.

“I can read Celestial,” Adora offered. “So can Glimmer, as a matter of fact. If you take us down to the Sea Gate, maybe we can find something there that can help.”

Mermista raised her eyebrows, the most positive expression change they’d seen from her. “Well, that’s a thing we could do. Might as well.”

“If we can help you fix the Sea Gate, will you consider joining us? Please?” Glimmer asked.

Mermista sighed. “I don’t know. I guess. But he has to leave,” she said, pointing at Sea Hawk. He looked hurt at that.

“But where am I supposed to go?” he said in a small voice.

“Maybe wait with the boat, okay? We’ll take care of the Sea Gate,” Bow said as if talking to a small child. Sea Hawk hung his head as he walked away.

They made their way down to the base of the Sea Gate. Sure enough, the thing was covered in Celestial writing. As Adora looked it up and down, Glimmer pulled out her father’s book and began casting another spell. When it completed, she whistled in awe. “That’s some powerful abjuration magic,” she remarked, nodding to the Sea Gate. “No wonder this thing lasted for so long.” She then joined Adora in translating the writing.

“It seems like it draws its power from a runestone,” Adora said, interpreting.

“Yeah, that makes sense. We have one here, the Pearl,” Mermista said.

“So it looks like the Sea Gate is weakening because it’s losing its connection to the Pearl for some reason,” Glimmer added.

“But how do we _fix_ it?” Mermista said.

“Just wait a minute,” Adora said. Her hands lightly drifted over the script as she read. At last, she found her answer. “There’s an area inside the Sea Gate where a restoration can occur. It needs the power of someone with… ‘the light of the celestials.’ Oh.”

“So an aasimar?” Glimmer asked.

Mermista put her face in her hands. “So what you’re saying is we’re all dead,” she moaned.

“Actually, no,” Glimmer said. Mermista looked up at Glimmer, who pointed at Adora. She smiled and waved a little at Mermista, who stared at her, not understanding. Her eyes widened as she realized what Glimmer meant.

“Whoa,” she said. “Seriously?”

Adora nodded.

“Wicked. So how do we get to this place?”

“There should be a hatch somewhere,” Adora murmured, searching. “Found it!” A portion of the Sea Gate had cracks too straight to be accidental. They were too small to get her fingers in, so she summoned the Sword of Protection to pry it open.

“Huh. Magic sword.” Mermista noted.

“I protest to this,” Grayskull said to Adora as she forced the sword into the crack. “The sword is not a crowbar, Adora.”

“Well, it’ll only be for a few seconds,” she muttered. Adora managed to pry it open, revealing a shaft with a ladder that led up to the top of the Sea Gate.

“Yeah!” Bow cried. “Nice work!”

“You’re pretty strong,” Mermista said.

“You go take care of that, Adora. I’m going to deal with him,” Glimmer said, pointing in the distance where they could see Sea Hawk moping.

“Why bother?” Mermista asked.

“He did get us here. He was really helpful, even if he was annoying at times. I wouldn’t feel right if we just left him there like that,” Glimmer defended the man, something she never expected to do.

“Suit yourself,” Mermista said. Glimmer ran off as Adora, Bow, and Mermista prepared to ascend the Sea Gate. Adora was giddy. This was perfect! They could fix the Sea Gate, recruit Mermista, and be that much closer to winning against the Horde. Nothing could go wrong!

“Uh, guys?” Bow broke the silence, pointing to a spot in the distance before any of them could climb into the shaft. Cruising at them was a large ship, its black flags adorned with two red bat wings, the symbol of the Horde. The ship was bristling with cannons as it sailed toward the Sea Gate, its purpose clear.

So much for nothing going wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've never played World of Warcraft, but I found that song a while back and loved it, so I thought: why not let Sea Hawk play it? It sounds like a song he would know, and it's a pretty good fit for a fantasy world.  
> Spotify Link: https://open.spotify.com/track/2MENUewcb6uNWJI6mDB3jq?si=aPXVgilHScmbA7vy_B8rMw  
> Youtube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjJYxCxzVe4
> 
> I really thought I could finish this part of the story in one chapter, but before I knew it I was more than 7000 words in and the big fight had barely started. Now that I think about it, this is my longest chapter yet. I'll wrap it up soon enough, then it's time at last for a little reunion between old friends...
> 
> SPELL LIST  
> "...and a silver line appeared around them in a cube shape. It flashed once then went dark." Glimmer used Alarm  
> "Adora felt a strange surge of energy rush into her body at that moment." Glimmer used Enhance Ability (Bull's Strength)  
> "...Glimmer pulled out her father’s book and began casting another spell on the Sea Gate." Glimmer used Detect Magic


	9. The Sea Gate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bow, Glimmer, Mermista, and Sea Hawk fight off the Horde ship while Adora works to restore the Sea Gate. Adora runs into a face from her past. Catra has a bad time. Shadow Weaver schemes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I'm back! Sorry it took me a few more days than usual, I had some family stuff that came up that slowed me down a bit. I might post a little less often in the future, since I'm going to have to deal with school and other things soon. But we'll see. I'm still going to try my best to write stuff as much as I can. Anyways, back to the adventure...

Glimmer made her way down to Salineas’s docks where she met up with Sea Hawk. She had never seen the half elf man look more downhearted than that moment. He was at his boat, singing dejectedly to himself as he prepared the  _ Dragon’s Daughter Three  _ for departure.

_ I'm Sea Hawk, I am, I am. _

_ Want to take a guy for granted, _

_ Then I am your man. _

_ Underappreciated in all I do, _

_ Why can't they see, _

_ I'm very cool? _

_ Guys, back me up, _

_ I'm very cool! _

“Where are you going?”

Sea Hawk nearly jumped out of his skin as Glimmer spoke up. He had clearly not noticed her approach. “I’d really appreciate it if you  _ didn’t do that,”  _ he said.

“Are you leaving without us?” Glimmer asked.

“It’s for the best. I’m only getting in your way. It’s time for old Sea Hawk to be where he belongs, alone.” He walked along the deck of the ship, looking remorsefully into the horizon. “It wasn’t always like this. I’m not from around here, you know. Back home, I had friends, a crew. Every day an adventure more daring than the last. The fact that I kept setting my boats on fire was considered charming.” He smiled at the memory, but a frown overtook it after a moment. “But here, I can’t get anyone to take me seriously.”

“Yeah, I know a little bit about that,” Glimmer said, walking up next to him. “It was hard getting people to take me seriously for the longest time.”

“But you’re a Princess,” Sea Hawk said, confused.

“My dad is King Micah of Bright Moon. Founder of the Rebellion. You should have heard the nicknames he had back in the day. Before the Wailing Morn’, he was this… this legendary figure. I never saw him fight, being a kid and all, but from the way the soldiers spoke of him, it was like he was unstoppable. All I wanted was to make him proud, but then he lost my mother, and it was like he became a completely different person. He didn’t want me to reform the Princess Alliance at first, you know. For years it was-  _ you’re just a child, you’re not ready, you’re not strong enough, you’re going to get yourself hurt or killed along with others.” _

“So what happened?” Sea Hawk asked.

“Adora happened. She came stumbling into our lives, and all of a sudden I had a chance to prove myself to my father. I had a chance to rebuild the Princess Alliance and stop the Horde. My dad is finally putting his trust in me. And I’ll do whatever it takes not to let him down.”

“Well, Glitter-”

“Glimmer.”

“From the time we’ve spent together, I can tell you’re a brave and powerful soul. You’ve been given an opportunity to pursue your dream, and you’ve grasped it with both hands. Not everyone can do that. You’ve made up your mind to do something, and now all you have to do is go out and do it. I believe in you, and I also believe that anyone who underestimates you would live to sorely regret it.”

Glimmer smiled. “Thanks, Sea Hawk. And you know what? You still have friends and a crew.” She put her hand up in a salute. “Reporting for duty, captain!” Sea Hawk looked like he was trying not to cry tears of joy. “What, did you forget you were the one to teach us how to sail? We couldn’t have gotten here without your help.”

“Thank you,” Sea Hawk said, smiling. “That means a lot to me. Perhaps-”

He was cut off as a raucous boom echoed through the kingdom.

“What was that?” Glimmer cried.

“Salineas is under attack!” Sea Hawk yelled. The thought of leaving had been abandoned without a second thought. His crew was in danger! His Dearest was in danger! He rushed to the helm of his ship and veered it in the direction of the sound. His attempt at leaving had become a boon to them then, allowing them a quick start. Soon they were rushing to the disturbance. As they rounded a corner, they could see a massive Horde ship with cannons almost taking up the entire side of the craft blasting away at the Sea Gate. Mermista had been right, it was in no shape to take further punishment. There were bits of it starting to crumble, and the magic was beginning to visibly flicker. It wouldn’t be able to last much longer.

“We have to disable that ship!” Sea Hawk shouted.

“I’ve got an idea! But no one is allowed to tell my father about this,” Glimmer said.

“What’s the plan?”

“I need you to do what you do best.”

“I have a multitude of talents, lass. You’re going to have to be more specific.”

A wicked and slightly-worrying grin appeared on the girl’s face as she told him her plan.

“Set. Your ship. On fire.”

\-------------------------

Adora watched in horror as the first cannon shot came rocketing at the Sea Gate. It made contact with a resounding crash as a chunk fractured off of the monument. This was bad. If it took much more damage, this could be the end of Salineas. They had to act.

“We need to hold them off,” Bow cried. “Adora, go!”

Adora rushed up the ladder as Bow and Mermista went to counter the Horde attack. Climbing as fast as her body would allow, she soon reached the top of the Sea Gate. Before her was a small space covered in dull Celestial runes. In the center were two floating cylinders, each wide enough for a hand to fit on. As she stepped towards them, a blast knocked her off her feet. When her vision cleared and her ears stopped ringing, she noticed there was a brand new hole not two feet from where she had stood. She could see out through it as she took in the sight of the Horde ship decimating the Sea Gate, and her friends who were racing to stop it.

As Bow and Mermista rushed along the rocky cliff sides that flanked the Sea Gate, they came upon a ledge that would allow them to jump to the ship, which was just a few feet away.

Bow, slinging his bow onto his back, leapt onto the mast of the ship with a running leap and dropped down to the deck. He was met with a group of Horde soldiers staring, baffled, at the person who just dropped onto their ship. Mermista, in turn, dove right into the water, disappearing into the waves next to the ship with a splash.

Adora had to do this fast. Her friends were in danger if they had to fight them off for too long. She staggered to her feet and limped to the cylinders, where she placed her hands. It was time to heal the Sea Gate. She waited for something to happen…

… But nothing did.

“Come on, come on…” she muttered. “Why isn’t this working?”

“Error- User not appropriate,” an emotionless voice echoed in the room.

“What? W- why?” Adora sputtered. She was an aasimar. Why wasn’t this working? She could see outside that Bow was firing off arrow after arrow at the Horde soldiers, but he was outnumbered by an alarming amount. At some point, he would be overwhelmed. Whatever Mermista was doing below the waves, its effects became apparent every once in a while when the ship lurched wildly, throwing a few people off. It helped even the odds, but he couldn’t hold his precarious position on that ship forever.

“Come on, you piece of junk, I need you to  _ work,”  _ she growled to herself.

“Perhaps it is because of your fallen nature that you are having difficulties interfacing with First Ones’ tech, as you call them,” Grayskull offered. “Your light has been snuffed out by the darkness you were placed in in your youth. It is possible that the Sea Gate cannot be restored by someone currently with no inner light.”

“Well, there has to be  _ something  _ I could do,” Adora said.

“I could jump-start your light for a short time,” Grayskull said. “It would only be for a few seconds, but it could be long enough for the Sea Gate to be restored. I must warn you, though-”

“Do it.”

Suddenly, a pain unlike anything Adora had every experience flowed through her limbs. She screamed as her hands, her eyes, everything began to glow. Her vision went white as her body felt like it was being incinerated from the inside. The cylinders lit up, and that light spread to the entire room, lighting up the runes.

“User accepted. Commencing restoration process,” the voice returned.

“Adora!” Swift Wind cried, hopping out from his hiding place.

“I’m fine!” she gritted out. She was absolutely not fine. But if this was the price she had to pay to help the Rebellion, then so be it.

Meanwhile, outside, Bow had long run out of arrows, pulling his shortsword from his side. He hacked away at the soldiers that creeped ever closer, his shortsword darting around like a snake as he cut them down left and right. But alas, there were simply too many. As they landed more and more hits on him, his head spun and his vision became spotty. All of a sudden, it was harder for him to control his body as his movements became sluggish. He staggered to the side of the ship, his legs feeling like they were two seconds from collapsing under his weight.

Dimly, he could feel himself lose his balance and fall.

Dimly, he could feel his descent being slowed to the sound of music.

Dimly, he heard voices, then a hand on his chest.

He shot back to life as warmth flooded back into his body, looking around. Sea Hawk and Glimmer were gathered on the deck on the  _ Dragon’s Daughter Three,  _ while Mermista had just clambered up from the side _.  _ They were all staring at him, concerned, Glimmer the most of all.

“Are you all right?” she asked, a note of panic in her voice.

“Yeah, Glimmer, I’m ok,” Bow reassured her. He was still alive, at the very least. That had to count for something. Still, that could have gone way better.

“Good, because we’re not staying on this boat for very long,” Glimmer informed him.

“Wait, what?”

The  _ Dragon’s Daughter Three  _ had veered close to the Horde ship to rescue Bow from an untimely demise, but now it was turning back towards it. It flew at the enemy ship, picking up speed at a rapid pace, until there was no denying it was on a collision course.

“Get ready to jump!” Glimmer yelled.

“You were the best ship a sailor could ask for,” Sea Hawk said, patting the mast. “Now, it is time for us to part ways.  _ Adventure!”  _ He plunged his flaming sword into the nearest flammable object, which promptly burst into flames. The fire spread to the rest of the ship as the four jumped off into the ocean, Mermista more or less dragging Sea Hawk off. Below, they could hear a muffled crash, then a booming explosion as the two ships collided and destroyed each other. Bobbing up to the surface, they could see the ruined Horde ship in flames as it sank. Some soldiers had inevitably made it out, and they were swimming towards the Salinean shore.

“Ugh, now we have to deal with them,” Mermista groaned. 

“Shouldn’t be too much of a problem, Dearest,” Sea Hawk said. “After all, there’s no force in the world that can stop us when we are together.”

Mermista groaned again but said nothing more. They began swimming towards land as well, with Sea Hawk and Mermista far outpacing Bow and Glimmer. The two talked a little bit as they swam after them.

“They’re pretty fast, huh,” Bow remarked, wincing at the salt water that stung his partially healed wounds.

“Yeah, no kidding,” Glimmer agreed. She then smacked Bow upside the head, getting an  _ ow  _ from out of him. “What were you thinking, Bow? You could have gotten killed back there.”

“I was just trying to buy Adora some time, Glimmer,” Bow defended himself.

“Yeah, but if we hadn’t swooped in and saved you, you would have fallen into the ocean and drowned. What would we have done without you?” Glimmer yelled, then continued in a smaller voice. “...What would I have done without you?”

Bow looked down. “I’m sorry, Glimmer. I didn’t mean to scare you like that. I guess I was just so panicked, I rushed in without thinking. I’ll be more careful next time.”

“You’d better,” Glimmer tried to say it in a joking manner to mask the immense worry she had felt. It only kind of worked.

As they returned to dry land, Adora was having some difficulties. While the light poured out from her, it  _ burned,  _ hotter than any flame. It felt like it scorched her very soul as she stood there, locked in place. After what felt like an eternity, the pain subsided. The light faded, and the room went silent as Adora collapsed to the floor. Smoke was coming out of her mouth, her nose, her ears. It was like she had been cooked from the inside.

“I  _ was  _ going to warn you,” Grayskull said. “It hurts. A lot.” Adora didn’t respond. Around her, the room glowed to life with new power.

“Restoration complete. Connection reestablished. Commencing power-up… now.”

There was a rumble as the Sea Gate below her was revived to its former state. Although she could not see it, the barrier that had been flickering and weak before now glowed with new strength. It even seemed to be repairing itself, with cracks and missing parts being filled in by some kind of old magic.

“Are you all right?” Swift Wind asked worriedly as he crawled up next to her.

“If it worked, then I’m fine. If it didn’t, then I am very much not fine,” she managed.

“You’re not looking so great, Adora,” he said. All of a sudden, healing magic flowed into Adora’s body and she gasped. Seeing her confused stare, he said, “I  _ did  _ say I could use magic. Do you want me to stay with you or go grab your friends?”

“Go find them. Did the ship stop firing? That’s a good sign. Anyways, make sure they’re alright,” Adora said. Swift Wind turned into a bird and flew off.

She sat there, catching her breath. That could have gone better. Still, she had done it, along with Grayskull’s help. Adora wondered to herself if there was a way to “jump-start” her light permanently. Something to think about another time. She heard the sound of people climbing up the ladder and turned. “Hey, I think I did it! I…” she trailed off. Facing her were Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelio.

“Adora?” Kyle said. “What are you doing here?”

“I’ll tell you what she’s doing here,” Lonnie snarled. “She’s a defector. A traitor. She abandoned her home to help the  _ princesses.  _ Isn’t that right, Adora?”

“It’s not like I didn’t have a reason. The Horde is lying to you all,” Adora argued. “They don’t care about peace and order. They just want to conquer everything in their path and destroy anyone who tries to stop them. It’s not  _ right,  _ you have to see that.”

“You think I care who’s right or wrong in this?” Lonnie shouted. “We were a team. We were a  _ family.  _ Then you threw it all away, and for what? To run around with some stinking magic wielders?” Rogelio uttered a deep growl as everyone’s hands drifted to their weapons.

“I did it to save the world. I did it to help the people of Etheria. I’m going to stop the Horde, no matter what it takes. Even if it means fighting you,” Adora said. She manifested the Sword of Protection and reluctantly leveled it at her former friends. They all did a small double take at the sight of their former comrade using-

“Magic,” Kyle whispered, awed. Rogelio’s usual stoic expression was replaced by one of slight surprise. Lonnie’s face just hardened in anger even more.

“Please don’t make me do this,” Adora pleaded.

“Do you seriously believe you have a chance against the three of us? Even with your new  _ powers _ ?” Lonnie spat the last word out as if it were poison.

“I have to try. For the sake of the world-”

“Oh, get over yourself!” Lonnie roared as she lunged for Adora. Kyle was frozen in place, and Rogelio looked more concerned with protecting him than facing Adora. She brought up the Sword of Protection to block, the shield still slung around her back, and Lonnie’s sword slid off it with a shriek of metal. They exchanged blows as the sound of people climbing the ladder echoed through the room once again. “Stop whoever’s coming!” Lonnie ordered as she went for a sweeping strike that Adora ducked out of the way of. 

When it came to the fight, Adora was Lonnie’s superior by a mile. However, she felt no small amount of hesitation when it came to harming her old companion. They had been through a lot together, and it felt wrong to fight her even though they found themselves on opposite sides. She found herself on the defensive not out of necessity, but to avoid injuring Lonnie.

Lonnie, having noticed this, growled, “I  _ swear,  _ Adora, if you don’t stop playing around and actually fight me right now-”

“Villains beware! For I, Sea Hawk, have arrived to save the day!” Adora heard a familiar voice ring out as Sea Hawk appeared.

“I thought I told you two to-”

“Yeah, they’re kinda… not doing so great right now,” Mermista said as she stepped beside him.  “Plus I’m here too, you know.”

“Along with Princess Mermista! We’re here to assist you!”

They could see in the corner the fate that had befallen the other two. Rogelio was on his knees, sides shaking as he laughed uncontrollably. Being a lizardfolk, his laugh resembled a cross between a growl and a gurgle as he laid on the floor, incapacitated. Kyle, on the other hand, was having a panic attack as his eyes had gone pale and blank.

“Ican’tseeIcan’tseeIcan’tsee…” he whispered as he rocked back and forth.

Lonnie just gaped at the scenario in front of her before lunging at the nearest hostile, Sea Hawk. “No!” Adora cried, casting a spell. All of a sudden, Lonnie was locked in place, weapon held high over her head. Try as she might, she was unable to move.

“That’s some magic right there. I could have taken her, though,” Sea Hawk said, as if he had to make that point clear.

“Sure you could have. Cool move, Adora,” Mermista said.

Adora, taking advantage of the spell, disarmed Lonnie and locked her into a grapple. She ended the magic and Lonnie began trying to free herself. “Let me go!” she cried, but Adora’s grip was firm. She was held fast as she struggled in vain to get out.

“Fight me!”

“No.”

“Come on!”

“I’m not doing it.”

“Just you and me!”

“I won’t hurt you.”

“Coward! I hate you!”

“I’m so sorry.”

Lonnie’s struggling form went limp as her anger drained away. The six of them went down the ladder, with Adora, Sea Hawk, and Mermista guarding the three Horde soldiers. Sea Hawk had somehow produced some rope from his person, and they used that to tie them up. All the fight had left them after the magic affecting Kyle and Rogelio wore off. They just looked defeated, tired,  _ sad. _ Lonnie had an especially hurt look in her eyes. “Why did you leave us?” she asked, voice breaking a bit.

“I couldn’t just go back to the Horde after learning the truth. I found a new cause, a new purpose, something that  _ mattered. _ ”

“And it mattered more than us?”

Adora didn’t know what to say to that. As she struggled to come up with a response, she saw Bow and Glimmer coming up on them with Swift Wind bringing up the rear. As they got closer, she saw that Bow had been hurt.

“What happened?” she asked.

“He took on an entire Horde ship at once,” Glimmer announced.

“Maybe not the best idea in hindsight,” Bow said, rubbing his neck.

“But not to fear!” Sea Hawk cried from where Mermista and he stood. “We saved him in the nick of time.”

“Yeah, you did,” Bow admitted. “Thanks, everybody. For having my back.”

“What happened to running in without a plan?” Adora teased.

Bow looked embarrassed. “Not my finest hour,” he said. “Usually I don’t do that. I guess you’re rubbing off on me, Adora.”

“Well, I wish I could have seen it, that sounds awesome! But yeah, maybe don’t do that again. I don’t have unlimited healing powers,” Swift Wind said.

“It’s nice to know I’m not the only one of us who can do that,” Glimmer said. “Helps take some of the load off.”

“And is the talking bird with you, or…?” Mermista asked.

“Dang it, not again!” Swift Wind cried. “I’m really bad at this!”

“This is Swift Wind,” Adora said, introducing him. “He’s my companion.”

Mermista blinked. “Huh.” She turned to look at the restored Sea Gate. “Well, what do you know? You actually fixed it.” Now that its connection to the Pearl had been restored and it was in the process of repairing itself, it was indeed a sight to behold.

“It’s beautiful,” Adora said, because it  _ was. _

Mermista agreed, nodding. “I guess you’re going to be needing a new ship?” she added as she glanced over at Sea Hawk. “I  _ suppose  _ you can have one of mine.” She jerked her head over to the docks, where her solitary guard stood next to a brand new ship, smashing a bottle against it. Sea Hawk gasped as his eyes filled with wonder and gratitude.

“She’s gorgeous,” he whispered.

“ _ Don’t _ set it on fire,” Mermista said.

“No promises!” Sea Hawk happily declared. He turned to Mermista and kneeled, taking her hand. “But, Princess, if I might ask for one more favor.”

Mermista groaned. “You’re  _ always  _ ruining it,” she complained.

“You should think about joining Glimmer’s Princess Alliance,” he said, sweeping his arm to where she stood with Bow. “She is a brave and strong captain. With her and her friends leading the charge, they are sure to lead the Rebellion to victory.”

“Aw, Sea Hawk,” Glimmer said. “You even got my name right.  _ Not sure how you didn’t know it even after the whole time on the ship, _ but still.”

“Ok. I’m in,” Mermista said.

“Really?” Glimmer asked.

“Yeah. I sat around while the Horde almost destroyed my home. I’m not gonna do that anymore. I want to help fight them. Plus, your friend over there-” Mermista pointed to Adora. “- Has a legendary sword not seen in a thousand years. I wanna be on her side.”

“Wait, really?” Sea Hawk asked, taking a closer look at Adora’s sword. He did a double take when he realized what it was. A laugh bubbled out of him as he declared, “To think I was ferrying the mighty She-Ra across the waves on my ship! This will be quite a tale to tell, of that I’m certain.”

“So yeah,” Mermista said. “Sign me up, or whatever.”

Sea Hawk beamed as Adora, Bow, and Glimmer cheered. The three pulled Mermista into a group hug as she sighed. “Wow, ok, calm down.”

“You won’t regret this!” Glimmer promised, smiling. 

“Ok, so now that we’ve gotten that out of the way,” Mermista said. “We still have to deal with these three.” She pointed at the Horde soldiers they currently had tied up.

“Finally, the bubbly friendship stuff is over,” Lonnie said. “I was beginning to think you’d torture us to death with that. Just execute us already and get it over with.”

“Wait, are we about to be killed?” Kyle asked, terrified.

“Nobody is killing anybody,” Bow reassured them. He glanced at Mermista. “You weren’t going to kill them, right?”

“Nah, we don’t really do that here,” Mermista said.  “When everybody comes back, you’ll have a trial to answer for your crimes. If you’re found guilty, then you’ll serve some jail time. After that, though, you’re free to do whatever. Go back to the Horde, if you want, or maybe start a new life. I don't really care.”

“Oh,” was all that came out of Lonnie’s mouth. Kyle looked massively relieved, while Rogelio was as stoic as ever.

“Guard, would you take them away for now? We’ll arrange a trial as soon as Salineas is populated again,” Mermista said to the one other inhabitant, who had made his way from the docks over to them. He grabbed their restraints and began taking them away. The three took one last look at Adora as they were led away, their faces a mix of emotions.

"It was nice to see you again, Adora," Kyle called out, almost too quiet for her to hear it.  Then they turned a corner and were gone.

“Well then, what’re you going to do now?" Mermista asked them. "I’ve got a kingdom to repair, personally. Plus I need to let my people know it's safe to return.”

“We should be getting back to Bright Moon,” Glimmer said. “The Princess Prom is coming up soon, and I was thinking about trying to recruit Princess Frosta.” 

Mermista nodded. “Oh, yeah, the Kingdom of the Snows is hosting this year. Forgot about that. Smart call, I guess. I’ve heard dwarves are good fighters.”

“Princess Prom?” Adora asked. “What’s that?”

“We’ll explain it to you at some point,” Glimmer said. “I think you’d like it. Now, I believe it’s time for us to return home. We’ve been gone too long. Sea Hawk-”

“I would gladly take the young rebels back to safe harbors!” Sea Hawk, true to his nature, decided that this would be an excellent moment to burst into song, with Bow soon joining in.

_ The Best Friend Squad on the seas. _

_ We subdued the threat, _

_ The threat with ease. _

_ We sail the world, _

_ Come near and far. _

_ We’re best friends, we are, we are! _

_ We’re best friends, we are, we are! _

\-------------------------

After finishing the portion of the return trip on the water, they had said goodbye to a tearful Sea Hawk as they set out for Bright Moon. They laughed and chatted as they traveled, excited in their victory and at the thought of the journey ahead. Glimmer and Bow had been attempting to explain Princess Prom to Adora, who had been  _ very  _ confused by the concept.

“I’m going to need to start researching when I get back,” she remarked. “There’s so much stuff to remember, I think I’m going to have to make a chart or something.”

One afternoon, they stopped at a small village they had briefly passed through on the journey to Salineas. They were in need of basic supplies, and that village was the only settlement for quite a distance. And Glimmer was under no circumstances passing up on any opportunity to sleep in a real bed. 

As for the rest of their equipment, Mermista had been a big help. Before they had left, she had scrounged around her castle’s armory- or rather, had her guard do it. She had found a minor item for each of them, in addition to three potions filled with a red liquid that flowed like quicksilver. Potions of healing, she called them.  Bound to be useful at some point. 

First of all, she had restocked Bow’s arrow supply as well as gifting him a quiver with three compartments. “It’s good for holding more things than you can usually carry. You put arrows in the first one, stuff like javelins in the second, and you can put big things like your bow or other long weapons in the third. What you did was cool and all, but maybe stick to shooting from a distance next time,” she explained the items as she passed them out. 

To Glimmer, she had given a bronze pair of goggles with sapphire lenses that sparkled with inner light. “My people give those out to important guests who can’t see in the dark like we can while they stay here, but you can just keep it. You’re human, you need stuff like this, right?”

To Adora, she had given an elegant shield emblazoned with an eye. “This should make it easier to avoid getting snuck up on again. Probably. Plus it'll help you react quicker when a fight breaks out.” 

Swift Wind looked at her, hopeful. “Uh… no,” she said, shaking her head, and he drooped in sadness.

He was still upset by that as they made their way into the village, looking for a place to buy goods.  _ How hard would it have been?  _ He asked for what had to have been the thousandth time.  _ Hey, Swift Wind, you were super awesome during that last battle so here’s a cool magic item! But noooo, I get nothing. Nothing! This is an injustice, I say! _

“Well, it’s not the easiest thing to make a magic item for a shapeshifter,” Bow said.

“And it wouldn’t be likely that Mermista had one just lying around in her armory for you,” Glimmer added.

“Maybe we can find you something later, Swifty,” Adora tried to pacify him. “At the very least we can get some apples for you in the marketplace.” Swift Wind brightened up a bit after that.

The village was a bustling, friendly one: there were a mix of races here, though it was mostly humans. As they made it to the marketplace, they could see a variety of individuals of all shapes and sizes. Here and there, they would see a half elf or two, and even once a purple-skinned individual with curly horns like that of a rams’ Bow called a tiefling. He flashed them an impish smirk as he walked by, his solid red eyes flashing. “They’re like the opposite of you, Adora,” Bow explained. “They’re linked to Despondos, the Lower Plane, instead of Eternia, the Upper Plane. That doesn’t make all tieflings bad, though, just like all aasimars aren’t good.”

“Are they as rare as people like me?” Adora asked.

“They’re a bit more common, but still rare,” Bow said. “Eternia and Despondos still clash quite a bit, even after the Great Silence. Basically one of the only reasons Celestials still venture out of the Upper Plane is to fight Devils and Demons, so that means creatures from the Lower Plane don’t come up here that often, though not nearly as infrequently as Celestials. And sometimes when they do, tieflings happen.”

“Less talking, more finding food,” Glimmer groaned. “I’m  _ starving.” _

As the trio waded their way through the crowded marketplace, none of them were aware of the figure stalking them from the nearby shadows.

\-------------------------

Catra had  _ not _ been having a pleasant few tendays. She had been shoved out the door of the Guild of Shadows temple before she even had time to catch her breath and left to her own devices to pursue some ridiculous mission. Shadow Weaver hadn’t even bothered to give her a sense of where to look, which was so typical of her. She was always trying to set Catra up for failure. Well, she would show her. She would prove to her what she was capable of.

It had been hard, figuring out where they might be headed. She assumed they’d be spending much of their time at Bright Moon, but she couldn’t exactly just go waltzing in there. First of all, there was the Whispering Woods to think about. She had heard all the stories about the horrible forest and what lay inside it. How Adora had gotten out of there alive, she would never know. Also, Bright Moon Castle was the heavily-fortified heart of the Rebellion. No way would she be able to get in there.

That left her with the option of trying to catch them while they were out, which was easier said than done. Picking up rumors from nearby villages, she had discovered that apparently the Princess of Bright Moon was working to restore the Princess Alliance. That meant that one of her targets would be leaving the castle often, and she guessed that Adora would likely be with her. Why  _ wouldn’t  _ she be with her sparkly new friend? So she had to figure out where they would travel to recruit Princesses. That was easy enough to do. 

She had guessed Plumeria first, and _oh Gates_ what a mistake that had been. The forest of Plumeria was on par with the Whispering Woods themselves. Catra had lost count of the times where she had been grappled by vines that were _alive_ for some reason or chased by little monsters she could have sworn were dead twigs. Never again. She had prowled the coast after that, looking for any group that had been looking for passage to Salineas. No luck there either. 

This was where Catra started to get frustrated. Of  _ course  _ Shadow Weaver would put her on some ridiculous wild goose chase with no hope of success. What was she supposed to do? Did Shadow Weaver seriously expect her to find them without any clue of their whereabouts? The anger was soon joined by dread. She couldn’t return with a job left undone. Was this some kind of sick punishment for Thaymor? Was Shadow Weaver cursing her to roam the land forever, seeking to complete a quest that would never see its end? She had a whole continent to scour. How could she have any hope of success?

She had started moving further inland, perhaps just out of sheer desperation. She didn’t know what to do at that point. Part of her wholeheartedly believed that Shadow Weaver had given her this mission just to never see her again.  _ She just wants to get rid of you for good,  _ it said.  _ Why wouldn’t she? No one ever wanted you. No one ever stayed for you. _

The other part of her told that part to go shove it. She was going to  _ do  _ this, no matter how long it took. She didn’t need anybody’s help. She was going to kill Sparkles and Arrow boy and bring in Adora. Then, maybe, she would finally be seen as worthy. Maybe Shadow Weaver would finally treat her with some respect.

That was how she found herself in a small village, eating a  _ very  _ late lunch that she may or may not have stolen, when she saw a familiar blonde ponytail and nearly choked on her sandwich. She slunk through the shadows to get a better view of her possible savior-slash-target. Catra crept up closer and sure enough, there was Sparkles and Arrow boy and…

Adora.

_ Woah. _ Catra hadn’t gotten a good look at her either of the times she saw her last. Now that she could, she found herself staring, unable to look away. She couldn’t even muster up any of the anger that always lurked in the deepest reaches of her being, because Adora looked… incredible. As a little kid, she was clumsy and awkward, but now she had a powerful, athletic figure that suited her perfectly. Her hair was tied up in that same stupid ponytail that she had  _ absolutely no right  _ to still rock even after all their years apart. Her pupil-less, gray-blue eyes were shining as she talked to Arrow boy, completely captivated by whatever he was talking about. Catra found herself drawn into them, like they were twin whirlpools that dragged her in. Adora wore sleek chain mail armor adorned with intricate designs that she looked  _ born  _ to wear. Weird that she was wearing armor in a little village like that, but Catra didn’t really care right then. Oddly enough, though, there was no sword at her side. Catra faintly wondered where it was, but for some reason it seemed unimportant at the moment.

Catra was so preoccupied with… observing… that she hadn’t realized her mouth was slightly agape. In addition, she had totally failed to notice the village guard behind her until his hand clasped onto her shoulder. He didn’t even have time to get a word out before Catra spun around and raked her claws across his face out of sheer panic. She then booked it into the crowd as he cried out behind her. Catra pushed through people as she dodged and weaved through the mass, trying to get away from the guard and his other friends that were most likely on their way. She heard shouts behind her, but she was so close to getting a clean getaway. As long as nothing happened, then she would be just fine.

So naturally, something happened.

As she made it through almost the last of the marketplace, she didn’t realize the direction her feet were taking her in. That is, not until she came slamming into the armor of a certain blonde-haired girl with a loud clang. The impact knocked her off her feet as she fell on the cobblestone ground. Wincing, she picked herself up as Adora started babbling apologies.

“Oh no! I am  _ so  _ sorry, I didn’t see you at all there. Are you alright? You…”

She trailed off as her eyes widened into shock. She looked like she had seen a ghost, or like she was currently looking at one as Catra rose to her feet unsteadily.

“...  _ Catra?” _ Adora said, voice cracking.

Well, this was bad.

\-------------------------

Shadow Weaver peered into the Black Garnet, its misty surface parting for her to show her her quarry. There Adora stood, looking magnificently radiant as ever. Her two companions stood by her as they watched a hooded figure stumble to their feet. To Shadow Weaver’s surprise and amusement, it was none other than Catra herself.

“Well, well,” she said. “Three birds with one stone.”

She made her way over to a small box that she opened to reveal several sending stones. She picked out one in particular and said into it, “Tung Lashor. There is a village near your current location, yes? Kill everyone there except an aasimar girl named Adora. Then bring her to me.”

A slithering voice replied, “It will be done, my lady. The village will become a beacon of death and pain for all to see. I shall not fail you.”

Shadow Weaver returned the stone to the box and went back to her work. “You’d better not,” she said, even though he could not hear her. Tung Lashor was a competent wizard, and excellent at what he did. Surely he could demolish a puny settlement like that with the use of his…  _ allies.  _ He better get her some results, or else she’d make him pay dearly.

But still, this was excellent. By complete coincidence, she could cross so many things off her to-do list. Get Adora, kill two people important to the Rebellion, and rid herself of the troublesome whelp who Hordak had stuck her with all those years ago. If only she could have killed her sooner, but she could not jeopardize her relationship with the leader of the Horde. No doubt he would take her demise as a show of disrespect to him. Soon, though, when she had Adora in her grasp, she could rise up, claim the Horde for herself, and conquer all of Etheria. It would be hers. All of it would be hers. If only  _ they _ could see her now. If only  _ he  _ could see her now. 

She would prove all of them wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ALRIGHT THEY'VE FINALLY MET! It only took around 60,000 words or so. Wow. Looking forward to what comes next... (oh boy, I've got to try to write romance along with everything else now. I have no idea how this will go.)
> 
> Also Tung Lashor is a wizard because yes.
> 
> SPELL LIST  
> "Dimly, he could feel his descent being slowed to the sound of music." Sea Hawk used Feather Fall  
> "He shot back to life as warmth flooded back into his body..." Glimmer used Cure Wounds  
> "All of a sudden, healing magic flowed into Adora’s body and she gasped." Swift Wind used Cure Wounds  
> "Rogelio was on his knees, sides shaking as he laughed uncontrollably." Sea Hawk used Hideous Laughter  
> "Kyle, on the other hand, was having a panic attack as his eyes had gone pale and blank." Mermista used Blindness/Deafness  
> "All of a sudden, Lonnie was locked in place..." Adora used Hold Person  
> "'...I don’t have unlimited healing powers.'" Swift Wind used Cure Wounds (offscreen)  
> "Shadow Weaver peered into the Black Garnet..." Shadow Weaver used Scrying


	10. Catra

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora and Catra reunite and immediately have to deal with an evil wizard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man, their first significant interaction! This was a difficult chapter to write, since I don't want to mess it up. I kept adding new things and rewriting whole chunks more often than I normally do. Although I guess that's apparent since this chapter is TEN THOUSAND WORDS LONG. Super interested to hear what you all think.
> 
> Also there's a part in this chapter in which a character has what can only be described as a panic attack, so trigger warning if you get upset by things like that. Don't read between "Their words filled..." and "... began to break" if you'd rather not read that part. (EDIT: I also included asterisks where the scene begins and ends as well.) I'm not super experienced when it comes to panic attacks and PTSD and stuff, so if I messed up that badly writing it then feel free to slap me around in the comments.

Adora couldn’t believe her eyes. Was there something wrong with her vision? Or was that really Catra standing there in front of her? She hadn’t recognized the other girl at first when she had come crashing into her, but now that she got a good look, she could see it was really her. She was older, obviously, but the eyes that stared at her, one sky blue and the other gold, were undoubtedly that of Catra’s. Before she could even stop herself, she was rushing forward and pulling Catra into a bear hug. Catra gave a small yelp of surprise as she was swept up in the embrace and quickly squirmed out of it.

“What the-” she started.

“Catra, what- you-” Adora looked down to see that Catra wore the dark clothes signature of the Guild of Shadows, which meant she was still a member. Adora could also see a spear slung over her back and knives sheathed in multiple spots on her person. What was she doing here? Was she on a mission?

One thing was for sure- Catra was panicked. Adora saw her fur puffed up with alarm the same way it used to do when they were little kids. Her eyes darted around as if searching for someone. She looked like she was about to do _something_ \- talk, run away, Adora wasn’t sure. But at that moment, Catra was seized by several guards who came from all angles. “Hey!” she yelled. “Let me go!”

“Wait, what are you doing?” Adora cried.

“This girl is under arrest,” one guard explained.

“For what? What did she do?” Glimmer asked.

“Assaulting a guard, for one thing,” the guard they were talking to continued, pointing to another person with deep gouges in his face. The wounds hadn’t blinded the man, but no doubt they would scar. “We’re taking her with us. She’s a criminal, and she needs to be dealt with.”

Adora sputtered but couldn’t find any words. The guards placed shackles on Catra’s wrists and gagged her as they led her away, and she stared at Adora with an unidentifiable look in her eyes before her head was shoved in a different direction by an armored hand. The guards, along with Catra, vanished into the streets. Previously silent while the arrest was going down, the crowd burst to life once more and went along with their lives. Adora just stared at the space where Catra had been, stunned.

“Wait a second. Was that the girl you told us about? Your friend from… _before the Horde?”_ Bow asked, dropping his voice to a whisper at that last part.

Adora nodded. After 10 years, her old best friend had come crashing- quite literally- back into her life. A whirlwind of emotions tore through Adora’s soul as she processed this new turn of events. “I… I haven’t seen her since that day. She’s alive. She’s ok,” she said, voice rising in excitement with each word. Her face fell again as she continued, “And she just got arrested right in front of me. That’s not good. I have to go talk to her!”

“Are you sure you should do that?” Glimmer asked. “She might still be working for the enemy. And as you said, _she just got arrested right in front of us._ I feel like she’s just going to be bad news. And wasn’t there a whole thing you told us involving her wanting nothing to do with you?”

“Glimmer, please, I- I have to do this. She was my friend, and even if she doesn’t feel that way now, I owe it to her to help. She’s stuck in the Guild of Shadows. If there’s a chance to get her out, I have to take it.”

“How do you know she doesn’t like it there?” Bow asked.

“Shadow Weaver,” Adora said, realizing as soon as she said it that she had been specifically avoiding mentioning her.

“Who?” they both asked predictably.

“She was the woman who took Catra in the first place. I met her plenty of times, she was always trying to get me to come to the Guild of Shadows. She’s cruel, manipulative, selfish, and plain evil. There’s no way she hasn’t been giving Catra a hard time, after what happened the day I was taken. I bet she took all her anger out on her ever since.”

“That sounds awful,” Bow said, sympathetic. “Maybe we should try to help.” Glimmer looked like she disagreed.

“Come on, Glimmer,” Adora pleaded. “Please? For me?”

Glimmer groaned. “Fine,” she grumbled. “She might not even _want_ your help, but sure. Let’s go save your friend on the side of the enemy.”

Asking around, they managed to find the village’s prison, a tiny building with only a few cells. Outside, they were stopped by a guard. “Who goes there?” he called out. “State your business or be on your way.”

“Princess Glimmer of Bright Moon and her companions,” Glimmer announced. “We’d like to speak to one of your prisoners, please.”

The guard leaned in closer and looked like he might have a heart attack at the regal sight of a Princess. He bowed hastily. “Your Majesty,” he said. “Forgive me, I meant no disrespect. Come right this way.” He led them to the only occupied cell where Catra sat. Her hands were still clamped in irons, and she was still gagged as well. She sat up and looked at them coolly, as if she had expected them. The guard opened the door to her cell and removed her gag. Her eyes tracked him as he moved, glaring daggers. The guard was made quite aware of the danger he was in as he speedwalked out of the cell, as far away as he could get from her, then went to the other end of the room to watch their conversation.

As the four began to converse, none of them could possibly be aware of the lizardfolk shrouded in dark rags, holding a staff and spell book as he silently entered the small village, his force in tow. “The village shall be razed, and The One Who Walks In Light gifted to my lady,” he said. “By Tung Lashor’s hand, it shall be done.”

\-------------------------

Catra sat in her cell alone, thinking. She wasn’t sure if there was a worse way that could have gone. She had slammed face first into Adora, gotten caught by the town guard, and now she was locked in this place. They had been smart enough to bind her hands and gag her, so her shadow arts were out. Not that she was sure she would have used them, given the opportunity. Every time she invoked that power, all it reminded her of was Shadow Weaver and everything she had done to her. The verbal abuse. The torture that was her mentor “honing her abilities.” The Darkening. She wasn’t enthusiastic about using the skills… bestowed upon her… by Shadow Weaver.

As she thought, her mind kept wandering back to Adora. How she had acted when they ran into each other. When she looked into her eyes, she had seen a plethora of emotions. Some she expected, like shock. But others were a surprise to her, like sadness and almost… joy. What reason would Adora have to be happy to see her? She had been fine abandoning Catra to Shadow Weaver. And now she had the audacity to act like she was glad to see her? What a load of-

The cell door swung open, and speak of a Devil. There Adora stood, flanked by Sparkles and Arrow boy as one of the guards from earlier let them in. Catra had to try hard to not let her surprise show as she sat up to face them. What could they possibly be doing here? What could anyone want with her? Her mind wandered through the possibilities of an interrogation, but there was no way Adora would be fine with that. Not unless she had changed more than Catra realized.

The guard nervously made his way over to where Catra was seated to remove her gag, and if only looks could kill. She’d had her fair share of the law enforcement in that village, and she wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity to make a guard squirm. Sure enough, he looked like he was trying his hardest not to bolt from under her gaze. He took the gag and practically flattened himself against the wall farthest from her, watching.

Catra decided to take the initiative since no one had started speaking yet. “Hey Adora,” she said in a husky voice. “Sparkles. Arrow boy.”

“ _Actually,_ I’m Glimmer, and he’s Bow,” Sparkles said in a strained voice.

Catra just cackled. Oh, that was _rich._ “Like that’s supposed to be any better? Say, how’s your shoulder? Not still sore, is it?”

“Why would-” Glimmer started, puzzled, but then outrage flashed on her face. “It was _you!_ You’re the Spectre from Thaymor!”

“Ding ding ding! Point to Sparkles!” Catra laughed. She still had the fond memory of the shocked look on Glimmer’s face as she teetered over the edge of the rooftop, knife buried in the girl’s shoulder. The Princess in question looked like she was two seconds from jumping her, and Bow looked genuinely concerned he would have to hold her back. As if Catra couldn’t take her in a fight.

“You were at Thaymor?” Adora asked quietly. Why was she looking at Catra like that?

“So were you,” Catra noted. “You’re a princess now, as I saw.” Wielding magic sword powers and kicking Octavia’s sorry hide with them. “Say, where’s that sword of yours, anyway? Didn’t lose it somewhere, didya?”

“It’s in a safe place,” Adora said. After a beat of hesitation, she continued, “I was looking for you, you know.” 

Catra frowned. Why would Adora bother to look for her? That was weird. “Why? You never cared before.”

“Catra, I-” Adora looked like she was about to protest, but Catra cut her off.

“Just spit it out already. Why are you here?” Catra hissed. She was tired of whatever game they were playing. 

“To... help you,” Adora tried weakly.

Catra was incredulous. Her anger bubbled up to the surface as she snapped, “Help me? _Help me?_ I’ve spent the better part of ten years on my own in the Guild of Shadows. I didn’t have anybody’s help then. I certainly don’t need your help now.”

“ _What’d I tell you?”_ Glimmer murmured quietly. Bow gave her a stern look.

“Well, are you… happy… in the Guild of Shadows?” Adora asked.

What kind of question was that? “Happy? Pfft, I’m super happy. I’m like, the happiest person _ever._ ” That was a total lie, of course. Her time in the Guild of Shadows was torture. Sometimes literally. Scorpia and Entrapta helped her hang on, but it often was just that. Hanging on. When was the last time she was truly happy? 

Adora frowned. She looked like she was about to say something else, but she paused when Catra began looking around attentively, her ears flicking. She heard something. Something the others hadn’t just yet. She strained, trying to focus on whatever was causing the noise.

Was that… screaming?

The others began to hear it, too. No doubt, it was screaming that began to echo through the streets and into the prison. The guard looked up nervously. “Uh, Princess, maybe wait here. I’ll… take a look outside.” He walked over to the doorway, opened the door, and went through. The door swung shut as the faint screams continued. 

Only they were getting louder now. Closer.

The four all held their breath without realizing, waiting for the guard to come back. A few seconds passed. A few seconds more. They were getting unnerved now. As they waited for the guard to reopen the door, all of a sudden they heard an unearthly screech and the sounds of combat. The door burst open to reveal the guard, wounded. “Help me!” he cried, lurching into the prison, but something was holding him back. 

To their horror, they all saw what was grappling him. Skinless corpses of humanoid creatures, skeletons given life, clawed at the guard as he tried in vain to get to safety. But they overpowered him and dragged him back out, too enraptured to notice the four other horrified souls watching. The guard made one last attempt at grabbing the door as the skeletons pulled him to the ground, but he was only successful in slamming the door shut as they gave one last yank to bring him back out into the streets. They heard a loud, piercing scream, and then silence.

Adora, Catra, Bow, and Glimmer just looked at each other. No one spoke, too shocked at what had just transpired to form words. Finally, Bow broke the silence in the room.

“Undead. Sounds like a lot of them.”

“What are they doing here?” Glimmer asked.

“If there’s really a lot of them out there, there’s no way they’ve just been wandering around in the wilderness like that. Most likely, they’ve been raised by a…”

“Necromancer,” Adora and Catra finished at the same time. She knew plenty about necromancers. There were a couple in the ranks of the Guild of Shadows. They were a nasty bunch that warped the magic of life and death to their will and used it to create undead thralls in service to them. If there was _any_ kind of magic that was worse than Shadow Weaver’s, it would be necromancy. Catra glanced over at Adora, who looked like she was about to be sick.

“Uh, what’s up with you?” Catra asked. Unlike her to act this way.

“We, uh, heard a lot of stories about necromancers as cadets in the Horde,” Adora whispered, almost a squeak. “They were very, very bad stories.” They must have been, to cower the _mighty Adora_ so. Catra almost felt a flash of pity. Almost.

“Alright, we need a plan,” Glimmer said.

“I’ve got an idea. Step one: get me out of these Gates-forsaken chains,” Catra offered, holding up her hands. She was tired of these things. If they could let her out, that would be great. Then she could figure out how to handle the current situation so that she could get on with her mission. Finding them had been the easy bit. Now onto the difficult part.

“Yeah, how about no,” Glimmer said, eyes narrowed. 

“Glimmer! We can’t just leave her here, she could be killed!” Adora cried, aghast.

“Yeah, Glimmer, that’s a little harsh,” Bow agreed.

“She’s the enemy! She’s already tried to kill us once! I say leave her,” Glimmer argued. Oh yeah, Catra _really_ didn’t like this girl. She was going to have issues with her. If they left Catra to rot here, then she’d just have to find a way out on her own. Then all she had to do was kill her and Bow and take Adora to Shadow Weaver. She’d be fine. Somehow.

Adora turned back to Glimmer. “I’m not leaving her behind,” she declared, a fire in her eyes unlike anything Catra had ever seen. She gave a sidelong glance at her as she said, “Not again.” Glimmer looked like she wanted to protest further, but Bow nudged her, seeming to take Adora’s side. A look of frustration flickered across her face, but she conceded.

All of a sudden, a tiny white frog with an orange stripe sleepily poked out from Adora’s shoulder and glanced around with an odd intelligence in its eyes. It looked pointedly at Adora, Glimmer, and Bow, as if communicating something to them. Weirder still, they seemed to be acknowledging that fact.

“Maybe not yet, buddy,” Adora whispered. Catra looked at her oddly. Um, what? Was she talking back to the frog? What was going on? 

Adora, Glimmer, and Bow looked around until they found the keys that would unlock Catra’s manacles. Adora inserted the key into the lock and turned it, freeing her hands. Catra rubbed them, being a bit sore. She hated being restrained like that.

“Alright, the dangerous enemy is now free. Cool. What’s the next step?” Glimmer asked as Catra grabbed her stuff the guards had taken from her.

Catra’s fur puffed up as she spun towards Glimmer, spear in hand. “This _dangerous enemy_ is going to-” 

Adora cut her off before Catra could do or say anything else, stepping between the two of them. “How about we not do this right now? Because we need to, I don’t know, focus on _not dying?_ ”

Glimmer crossed her arms with a _hmph_ . Catra’s eyes narrowed as she slung her spear on her back. She _really_ wouldn’t mind killing her right now, but it would only hurt her in the long run. Better to bide her time.

“So, any ideas?” Adora asked everyone.

“We haul butt out of here. No reason to stay,” Catra suggested. She didn’t want to be in this awful village for a second longer than she had to. She had had it with this place. And besides, the sooner they got out of there, the sooner she could be done with this cursed mission.

“We’re not leaving all these people behind,” Bow said. “We have to stop this.”

“You want to go straight into an undead horde? You’re going to get yourselves killed,” Catra scoffed. Not that she had a problem with that, but she was technically supposed to keep Adora alive.

“You want to leave? Go out there all alone in the _undead horde,_ as you said? Be my guest. No one’s stopping you,” Glimmer said, gesturing to the door.

“No one is leaving alone. We have to stick together, or else we could all die. Please don’t go, Catra. We could really use your help,” Adora said, an almost pleading note to her voice.

Catra was conflicted, to say the least. On one hand, it was suicide. Who knew how many undead were out there? And what about the necromancer, the one controlling them? How could they possibly stop them with just them four? But then again, she had a mission to uphold. Sparkles and Arrow boy she could care less about. Her job was to keep Adora safe. For now. And Gates knew she was probably going to do something stupid to put herself in danger. Better if Catra was there to have her back.

And besides, she was thrown off by how Adora was treating her. After all these years of silence, why was she suddenly acting like this? Acting like she actually cared about Catra and her well-being? When she said she wasn’t leaving her again, something inside Catra had fluttered. _Stop it,_ she thought. _Stop making it so hard to hate you. You don’t get to act like you care, after leaving me alone with_ her _for ten years._ But here Adora stood, caring. And Catra wanted to know why.

“Fine,” she reluctantly grumbled. “Let’s hear your stupid plan. Please tell me you’ve thought of one.”

“We don’t know the numbers of the undead, so fighting them is inadvisable if there’s too many. We’d be exhausted and overrun in no time. Our best bet is to find the necromancer and take them out,” Bow reasoned.

The frog on Adora’s shoulder looked at them again, and Adora sighed. “Ok, you can talk to her. Catra, don’t freak out.”

“Why would I-” Catra started.

“So as I was saying, new girl, I can use magic to detect them in a short radius around me. So at least we won’t get snuck up on by any undead.” the frog said.

Catra blinked. Well, _that_ was weird. “Huh. Talking frog.”

“Usually, I’m a horse. But yeah, super awesome, I know. Call me Swift Wind!” the frog exclaimed.

“You princesses are weird when it comes to names,” Catra said.

Glimmer started violently coughing, and something was uttered that sounded an awful lot like _Catra._ Catra just glared at her.

“What about the townsfolk?” Adora asked.

“Those skeletons tore up that poor guard, and he was at least somewhat capable of fighting. We’d be asking for a massacre if we tried to rally them,” Glimmer said.

“We’re already going to massacre ourselves,” Catra pointed out.

Glimmer shot her a glare as she continued. “We need to keep the fight away from them and find the necromancer as quickly as possible. With luck, maybe the noises of the fight will draw them to us. But we can’t fight them all at once.”

“Ooh, ooh! I can help!” Swift Wind said, enthusiastic about sticking his neck out for people he didn’t know for some reason. “I’m super tough, so I could go around and make sure that no civilians are harmed! Those bundles of bones are no match for Swift Wind!”

Catra snorted. “What’s a frog gonna do against undead?”

“I’ll have you know I’m an excellent fighter,” Swift Wind protested, offended.

“He’s a shapeshifter,” Adora explained. “He actually is pretty helpful in fights.”

Catra would believe it when she saw it.

“Swift Wind wouldn’t be able to tell us if any undead were nearby if he’s not with us, though,” Glimmer pointed out.

Swift Wind became a bit more hesitant. “Oh, yeah. Maybe I should stay with you all? I mean, I don’t want to leave your side, Adora, if you think it’s better this way.”

“No, Swift Wind, that was a good idea you had. It’s brave of you to draw away attention from the townspeople, and besides, there’s no way some skeletons could hurt you. I think you should do it,” Adora reassured him. Swift Wind brightened up at that.

“Well, even if Swift Wind takes care of some of them, the necromancer probably won’t be alone when we find him. And we might still run into a fight we didn’t ask for, since we won’t have Swift Wind detecting undead nearby us. Do we have a way to take multiple enemies on at once?” Bow asked. Catra was intrigued to hear the answer to this question as well. If they didn’t have any crowd control fighting an army, they were in for a rough time.

“I’ve got something,” Glimmer spoke up. “A new spell. It should definitely be of use here.”

“I have some magic for this, too,” Adora also offered. “Good for when I’m surrounded, I guess. But it’s not a good idea for anyone to be around me when I use it.”

Bow nodded, satisfied. “That helps our chances. We just have to make it to the necromancer, ideally without being spotted.” He turned to Catra. “The three of us have fought together for a while now, but what can you do?”

“I’m fast, probably faster than all of you. Better at stealth, too.” Catra said. “I’ve got these-” She gestured to her weapons. “- and I’ve got these.” She unsheathed her claws. “And…” 

Her shadow arts. Flashes of Shadow Weaver filled her mind. “That’s pretty much it.” Glimmer narrowed her eyes, but Bow and Adora looked convinced.

“Alright then. There we go, we’ve got a plan now,” Adora said. “Swift Wind does his best to protect the villagers and draw away as many undead as possible, while we sneak around, find the necromancer, and take them down.” She didn’t look too excited at the prospect of doing battle with a necromancer, but Catra could see the familiar stubbornness on her face. Adora was going to go through with this, regardless of whether she wanted to or not. Always playing the hero. “Let’s do this.”

“Alright, Best Friend Squad!” Bow whispered, as to not draw any unwanted attention. Adora, Glimmer, and Bow put their hands together, and even Swift Wind put in a webbed foot. They all looked at Catra, expectant.

“Uh… what are you doing?” Catra asked, cocking her head to one side in confusion.

“Waiting for you to put your hand in,” Swift Wind said.

“It’s a Best Friend Squad thing,” Bow added.

Catra scoffed. “I’m not-”

“Pleaaase, Catra? _”_ Adora asked, giving her puppy-dog eyes. Curse her and those eyes. Catra ever so slowly placed her hand alongside theirs, and on the count of three all their hands were flung in the air. And there _definitely_ wasn’t a small part of her that enjoyed it. Nope. Not at all.

As they broke apart and moved to the door, Catra was put off by her temporary companions’ behavior. They just met face to face that day, and Catra had tried to kill them once before in the past. And just like that, they were treating her like a teammate? Maybe they were just putting up with her for Adora’s sake, since they had shared history. Well, Glimmer at least was. She had made her feelings for Catra explicitly clear. But everybody else was being _nice._ Didn’t they know that letting people in could only hurt them? At some point, she would have to kill two of them and capture her old friend. She pushed away that thought for now.

“Ok, let’s go,” Adora said. All of a sudden, the sword that had caused all this trouble appeared with a flash in her hand. Catra blinked in surprise. Seeing her face, Adora explained, “Uh, yeah, it’s a thing I can do. Pretty handy.”

“No kidding,” Catra replied. She wondered to herself what other things Adora could do with that sword. The rest of the group was left to prepare as Bow unslung his longbow and pulled out an arrow, and Glimmer cast some sort of spell on herself that encased her body in a blue protective force.

They left the prison at last, with Swift Wind in front. At that point in the day, the sun was just about to sink below the horizon. It painted vibrant colors across the sky that the group might have found the time to admire if not for their current predicament. As they watched, he morphed into the shape of a giant scorpion. Catra was left stupefied at the sight, though she tried to play it off as if she wasn’t. Shapeshifter indeed.

“Good luck, Swifty,” Adora whispered, giving him a thumbs up as he scurried away. Soon he was out of sight, though they could hear him calling out challenges to any skeleton that dared face him. They moved through the empty streets as they attempted to locate the necromancer.

There was only one small problem. The plan required _stealth._ Adora, clad in chain mail armor, wasn’t exactly the stealthiest. Bow, Glimmer, and Catra snuck along just fine, but they were followed by the ever present _clank, clank, clank_ of Adora’s heavy metal boots on the cobblestone ground and the sounds of shifting chain mail as she tried and failed to sneak.

“Are you kidding me, Adora?” Catra whisper-shouted. “How much more conspicuous can you be?”

“I’m sorry!” Adora whisper-shouted back. “This is not how I was expecting this day to go! What do you want me to do, take off my armor?”

“I’m starting to think that’s a good idea!” Catra responded.

“Would you two quit it?” Glimmer said. Loudly. Her voice echoed as it rang through the street. She clapped a hand to her mouth, but the damage was done. They strained to hear something through the silence. And they did hear something: faint footsteps coming straight towards them.

“We need to get out of here!” Catra whispered.

“But Adora’s too loud in her armor! We’ll never lose them once they hear us,” Bow whispered back. “We need to avoid being caught, but we can’t leave Adora.”

Glimmer rounded on Catra. “You can do something more, can’t you? You’re not called the Guild of Shadows for nothing, right? Do some stealth magic to get us out of this mess.”

Adora’s eyes lit up. “Like in Thaymor! How could I have forgotten? Catra, you can do magic like that right? Some members masked our approach to the town; you could do that.”

“No. No way,” Catra refused

“Why not?” Glimmer asked.

“Because- Forget it, I’m not doing it,” Catra retorted.

“We’re kind of running out of options, people!” Bow said. He was right. The footsteps were getting louder. Time was short.

“You need to do it.”

“Catra, we’re running out of time.”

“If you don’t do this, we’re all dead.” 

(sensitive content warning)

**************************************************

Their words filled Catra’s mind, crashing together into incomprehensible gibberish. Her head was spun as her breathing got more ragged and uneven. She couldn’t do it. She _couldn’t._ All she could see in that moment was Shadow Weaver, looming over her like a giant. “Pathetic,” the phantom of her mentor whispered. “Useless. You’ll never be anything of worth. You can’t even use what I taught you, because you’re too weak.” She was right. Of course she was right. She was _nothing, nothing, nothing-_

“Catra?”

Catra realized she was crouching on the ground, hands clamped on her head with a death grip. A flood of self-loathing and embarrassment hit her. How weak could she _be,_ breaking down like this in front of them? Once again, she wasn’t good enough. They were going to get caught, going to fail, going to die, and it was all her fault.

“Catra, please, talk to me.”

Now Adora was there in her field of vision, face full of concern. She placed her hands over Catra’s, loosening their grip. As they slid off her head, Adora took them in her own.

“I- I can’t do it,” Catra gasped. _Too weak. Too weak. Too weak._ The voices in her head were merciless as they taunted her.

“You _can,”_ Adora reassured her. “I know you can. Just look at me. Focus on me, ok? Deep breaths.” Catra’s gaze was locked with Adora’s once again as she stared into her eyes. She matched Adora’s deep breathing until her heart started feeling like it wasn’t about to be ripped from her chest. She felt like a little kid again, having to be calmed down by Adora after crawling in her bed during a lightning storm.

“Please let me help you,” Adora said. “Ok? I believe in you, Catra.”

“I’ll mess it up,” Catra said, shaking her head. She hated how pathetic her voice sounded at that moment. “I’m n- not good enough. Not strong enough.” _Not enough. Never enough for anyone._

“Hey,” Adora snapped, surprising Catra. “Don’t you dare talk like that.” She looked into her eyes as she continued, her voice softening, “You _are_ good enough, and you’re so, so strong. It’s amazing how long you lasted by yourself. But you don’t have to be alone anymore; I’m right here for you. And I’m not going anywhere.” The emotions were thick in Adora’s voice as she poured her heart out to Catra. Every word of encouragement she spoke made her ache in a way she had never felt before, and the storm that was in Catra’s mind began to break. 

**************************************************

“I hate to interrupt, but they’re basically right on top of us. So if you can do anything to help, like, _right now,_ that’d be great,” Bow said.

Catra let out a shaky breath and steeled herself. “Ok. I’ll try.” She had to do this. For Adora’s sake. Catra was _not_ going to be the reason they would die here. Maybe, just maybe, she could do it with her help. She looked down to see that Adora was still holding her hands. “I, uh, kind of need these, though,” she said, her face a bit warm. 

The other girl looked down and her eyes widened as she snatched her hands back. Was that a slight blush coloring her cheeks? No, it had to have been the lighting. “But, um, I only need one,” Catra continued, face getting even warmer. “So if you could…” she trailed off. Adora took the hint, thankfully, and took one of Catra’s hands in hers. She was going to need her to get through this, whether she liked it or not.

Her eyes closed as she began to cast a spell as fast as she could, the sounds of the footsteps indicating the skeletons were very close by. She felt Adora flinch at her grip, her claws digging into her hand slightly, but she held on without protest. As she worked to bring the spell to life, the memories of Shadow Weaver and all the horrible things about the past ten years assailed her. But this time, she wasn’t alone. Adora was here, holding her hand, and it was like someone blasted a piercing beam of light into the darkness and pain. It was weakened, scattered, and in the moment, Catra found that she could do it. 

As she finished the spell, a veil of shadow and silence radiated out from her, spreading to the other three. “Hide,” Catra whispered. They all did their best to conceal themselves in the six seconds they had before a mass of skeletons showed up, searching. They peered around the area, seeming to be empty to them. Their cold, dead eye sockets loomed as they tried in vain to locate the source of the noise that had drawn them there. After a period of time that felt like hours to the four, the skeletons shuffled off at last.

They all let out a breath that none of them realized they were holding. “If you tell anyone about this, I’ll claw your face off,” Catra warned, glaring at Glimmer and Bow. The half elf put his hands up in surrender, but Glimmer decided she wanted to push it.

“Aw, is the little kitty-”

“Come on, lay off her,” Adora said protectively, shooting Glimmer a look. She turned back to her. “Thank you, Catra. You did great.”

“Yeah, well… thanks, I guess. For helping,” Catra mumbled, and Adora beamed. Her hands were shaking less than last time in Thaymor, she noticed.

Now that the danger had passed, they set back out to find the source of the undead. And find them they did. With Catra’s magic still in effect, they slunk through the village into the town square. In the center of the area stood a cloaked figure with a gnarled staff. Surrounding the necromancer stood quite a few skeletons, unmoving.

“There he is. Now what?” Catra whispered. She glanced back at the group to see Glimmer wearing some kind of strange goggles. It puzzled her until she realized it was likely she needed them to see. The sun had set by the time they had arrived in the square, and humans didn’t have spectacular night vision. _Wait, why wasn’t Adora wearing a pair too?_ She’d have to figure that out.

“Any more magic you’ve got up your sleeve?” Glimmer asked after finishing the whispered words of encouragement she’d been keeping up for the past ten minutes or so. Despite Catra hissing for her to cut it out multiple times, she had persevered until a strange sense of magical warmth and protection permeated Catra’s body. Strange. It wasn’t like any spell Catra had ever heard of.

“After what happened back there, you really want to stick with my magic as a tactic?”

“Well, you did just fine with _Adora’s_ help,” Bow said, giving her a grin. There was some hidden message somewhere in his expression that she couldn’t figure out.

Catra just grunted. “... Well, I could throw up an area of silence. He can’t cast spells if he can’t talk.”

“Wouldn’t that mean _we_ can’t cast spells either?” Glimmer questioned.

“Well if you stayed far enough away, you could. But if you wanted to get up close and personal, then spells would be out. Also hearing anything,” Catra explained.

“I don’t need spells to take them down,” Adora said with grim determination.

“You think that sword will be enough?” Catra asked dubiously.

“I’ve got more up my sleeve than the sword,” Adora said. “And besides, I’m not alone. I’ve got you three.” A confident grin grew on her face as she looked at them all.

“Best Friend Squad?” Bow spoke up.

“Best Friend Squad,” Adora and Glimmer agreed.

“We’re all gonna die,” Catra remarked.

“Don’t be like that, Catra,” Adora said, as her eyes drifted to Catra’s hand. “Do you, uh… need me to do the thing again?”

“I don’t need-” Catra snapped, then stopped. She _did_ need that, if she was being honest with herself. Her fear wouldn’t go away in a day, so Adora was her best bet at being able to use her shadow arts right now. “Yeah, sure, ok.”

Adora held her hand as she focused on where the necromancer stood and sapped the sound from the air, coating the area in silence. When she finished, Adora then reversed her sword in her hands and uttered some words in an elegant language Catra didn’t understand. Two beams of sparking energy burst from the hilt of the sword and barreled at the necromancer, who was oblivious to the approaching danger. Both of them struck the figure in the side and they stumbled, their cry of pain muted by the spell. As the beams made contact, blue runes also appeared around the necromancer, flickering in and out of existence as they danced around their target.

Bow drew back an arrow and muttered some words of his own. His arrow glowed with a faint yellow energy as it streaked through the air. It made contact and burst into grasping vines that wrapped around the necromancer, hindering their movement as the thorns cut into flesh. He whipped off another arrow in a matter of seconds, where it too made contact.

Glimmer, in turn, spoke a phrase in the same strange language as Adora as the space around her began to shimmer. With a flash, spectral guardians danced around her, resembling divine winged beings as they tore into the undead horde. The skeletons closest to her crumbled to ash in an instant as she moved up to catch more of them in her radiant aura.

Now that the battle had begun and their momentum had gone uninterrupted, Adora went charging into the thick of it with a speed that surprised Catra. She saw a flash from Adora’s shield as the eye in the center lit up. Perhaps that was the explanation. As she ran to the group of undead along with their master, two pale, skeletal wings burst from her back, unfurling into their massive full length. Under the pale light of the moon, the only light in the square since none of the torches were lit, she almost looked undead herself. Catra was stunned at the horrifying sight. What had just happened? She turned to see Bow and Glimmer looking equally startled.

“So that’s why she asked for her armor to be altered,” Glimmer said with a quietness unlike anything Catra had heard from her. “Those two holes in the back make more sense now.” 

“Swift Wind _did_ mention skeleton wings when we first met him,” Bow added, shaken. “I guess that’s why.”

The skeletons shrank back in apprehension of Adora, but the necromancer stood undaunted. As Adora began preparing to attack, a thought struck Catra:

Was Adora… something not quite human?

Well, no time to think about it now. Adora was taking on the necromancer alone, because _of course_ she was, so Catra would help the other two mop up the skeletons. She ran up to the closest one, her spear darting around so fast it was hard to keep track of. As it stumbled under the force of her blows, she followed up with a slash of her claws, and it crumbled. She began to work her way through the horde in their confusion. 

As the skeletons turned, trying to decide who to attack first, Bow was shooting like a madman, his arrows finding their mark time and time again. Glimmer wasn’t doing too shabby either, blasting off bolts of radiant power while her spirit guardians vaporized any skeleton that dared to go near her. Even the few undead carrying shoddy bows were finding it difficult to hit the girl as their arrows mostly just bounced off her armor.

Meanwhile, the necromancer had realized they were in trouble. They tried to move out of the area of silence, seeming to recognize the magic that had been cast, but the vines that gripped them slowed their movement and caused gashes to open up in their attempt to flee. Adora was on the necromancer again after a second, her sword flashing through the air as she slashed at them. It bit into their back and they screamed. Or at least they tried to scream, but the magical silence still cut off any noise.

Despite this, the necromancer wasn’t done just yet. They staggered, but still stood. Their eyes closed as they appeared to begin concentrating. It was soon made apparent what was happening as the four of them heard footsteps approaching. More skeletons poured into the town square as they were still dealing with the ones that were originally there. Trailing after one of the larger chunks was Swift Wind, who was still snapping at the skeletons in giant scorpion form.

 _Hey, the whole gang’s here! Awesome, now we can kill these stupid skeletons,_ Swift Wind’s voice said as it invaded Catra’s mind.

“I thought the whole point of this was to _avoid_ taking them all on at once!” Catra yelled.

“Well, things never really go the way we plan,” Bow shouted back.

“I kinda noticed!”

The necromancer finally made it out of the sphere of silence. They gasped for a second before casting a spell, desperate to get out alive. The four watched as their target teleported away somewhere, powerless to do anything about it. But they had bigger problems right now. Namely, not getting killed by the undead horde assaulting them. 

Catra dropped the silence, since there was no longer any point to it now that their quarry had escaped. Adora jerked around in response, surprised by the sudden influx of noise. She leapt back into action without a second of hesitation, though, her sword dashing the skeletons to pieces. Magic abilities now available, she began to chant as she imbued her sword with thunderous energy for each strike. The words weaved together into a song of destruction as her blade hummed through the air, tearing apart anything that dared to stand in her way. The wings that adorned her back were still out in their full glory, making Adora resemble some kind of angel of death on the battlefield as she hacked through skeletons like they were made of paper. When her foes began to swarm her, Adora let out a shadowy burst of necrotic energy to send them staggering. The girl’s stubborn stance was apparent to Catra even from a ways away. The message was clear: There would be no retreat. Adora would fight till the bitter end.

The ranks of the enemy thinned under the four’s onslaught until eventually there were none left standing. They were all panting with exertion, battered and bruised. Most of them were bleeding quite a bit. No one had come out unscathed, except for Swift Wind, who somehow looked no worse for the wear.

“Did we lose the necromancer?” Adora asked as her wings receded. For the first time, Catra noticed that her eyes had been pitch black, but now they transitioned back into the shade so familiar to her.

“Not yet we haven’t,” Bow responded. He pulled another arrow from his quiver and nocked it. As he whispered to himself, his eyes and mouth lit up a grayish-blue color, and wisps of smoke began to curl from out of them.

“That’s not creepy at all,” Catra muttered.

Bow drew and shot into the air in one fluid motion, and the arrow flew off. It arced normally for a second, but was overtaken by magic as its trajectory suddenly shifted, pointing to a direction nearby. It shot off as if it had a mind of its own, whizzing out of sight, and they heard a pained cry as it seemed to connect with its target. “I know where they are now,” Bow said, still glowing. “Follow me.”

He led them through the streets until they came upon the necromancer slumped in an alleyway. Their cloak had been cast off, revealing them to be a male lizardfolk who was covered in blood and still stuck with a few arrows. They really had done a number on him. He coughed and wheezed as his eyes slid over to where they stood.

“Try anything, and you’re dead,” Catra said as they all leveled their weapons at him. She heard Adora cast a spell behind her and his body stiffened up, unmoving.

His gaze locked onto Adora as he rasped, “So you are The One Who Walks In Light. Yet I see you shrouded in shadow. Curious.”

“What? No, it doesn’t matter right now. Why did you attack this town?” Adora asked.

He let out a gurgling laugh and said, “Orders. Told to kill everyone here except you.”

“Whose orders?” Glimmer asked. When he didn’t respond, Catra walked up to him and grabbed him by his raggedy clothes.

“Whose orders?” she repeated, her anger stoked by his attitude and the events of the past few hours.

A wicked smirk appeared on his face as he said, “You’ll be too dead to hear.” All of a sudden, Catra felt a sharp pain in her gut. She looked down to see that his claws were buried in her abdomen, encased with a sickly green energy. It looked like he had broken out of whatever spell Adora was keeping him under. She staggered back and fell, vision going spotty as the necromancer’s wounds began to knit back together. Her hearing faded in and out as she heard a scream, then the sounds of fighting. She heard the necromancer roar as he threw magic at her companions, followed up by a shout of pain as he collapsed to the ground at last.

As she was about to pass out, she felt hands on her wound. All of a sudden, a soft, warm feeling spread through her body as her eyes cracked open. Adora was leaning over her, her face wracked with fear until she saw Catra was awake. Catra glanced down to see that where the necromancer had injured her was in the process of healing. And it looked like Adora was the one who was doing it.

“Are you ok?” Adora asked, sounding relieved but still worried.

“I just got out of a fight with an army of undead to be stabbed right after by a necromancer with his _bare hands_. Do I look ok to you?” Catra groaned.

Adora just laughed and smiled, obviously tired. She was still sporting plenty of wounds of her own. “You scared me, Catra. She’s alright!” Adora called out to the others. Catra looked over to see Swift Wind casting some kind of magic on Glimmer, who was puking her guts up on the side of the street while Bow had his hands on her back.

“What happened to her?” Catra asked.

“Some kind of spell he cast that made her sick. Swift Wind’s taking care of her,” Adora explained. “Here, drink this, too.” Adora was offering her a vial with a red liquid inside.

Catra’s eyes widened as she realized what it was. “Adora, I’m not taking this.” Why would she waste something like this on someone like her?

“Catra,” Adora said, almost in a warning tone. “Drink it.” Catra reluctantly complied, downing the liquid without any further argument. She felt like if she had persisted, Adora may have just forced it down her throat. Still, it was a welcome relief to the pain from before.

Glimmer was starting to look better after Swift Wind helped her out, though she was still a little pale. She walked over to the two of them, legs shaking, and placed her hands on their shoulders without saying a word. The warm feeling returned as Catra’s injuries began to heal further, and it looked like the same was happening to Adora. Glimmer and Swift Wind took turns healing everyone as much as they could. Once they finished, they all took a moment to catch their breath.

“Did… we do it?” Glimmer asked.

“Looks that way,” Adora responded.

“I didn’t see any more skeletons while I herded my group to you,” Swift Wind said, shifting back into a frog and hopping up onto Adora’s shoulder. “I think that was all of them.”

“The necromancer called all the skeletons back to him,” Catra said. “You didn’t _herd_ anything, Hopper.”

“Agree to disagree,” Swift Wind stated. “Wait, Hopper?”

“Because you’re a frog,” Catra explained.

“I’m not a frog!” Swift Wind cried. "I'm Swift Wind!"

“Whatever you say, Hopper.”

“Oh, come on! Somebody back me up!”

Adora, Bow, and Glimmer looked between the two of them and burst out laughing. Catra and Swift Wind found themselves chuckling along with them after a few seconds. After the tense past few hours, it was a welcome relief to laugh.

“So now what?” Adora asked after the laughter subsided.

“We should probably start telling people that the danger has passed,” Glimmer reasoned. “They should know it’s safe to come out again.”

“Ooh, do you think they’ll throw us a feast?” Swift Wind asked, excited. “Like back in Plumeria?”

Catra shuddered. “Let’s _not_ mention Plumeria right now, ok?”

They all looked at her quizzically. Sensing they wanted elaboration, Catra just muttered, “I don’t want to talk about it.”

"Understandable. What happens in Plumeria, stays in Plumeria," Bow said sagely.

"Sure," Catra said. "Let's go with that." Walking over to the body of the necromancer, she began poking through his things to find anything of use.

“Are you looting his corpse?” Glimmer cried, disgusted.

“What? He tried to kill us, so we get a right to his stuff. It’s fair game,” Catra retorted. She began to rummage through his belongings, but the dim light was making it hard to see. “Does anybody have a light? I can’t see well enough in the dark for this,” she asked.

“I can do something,” Adora offered.

“You know a light spell?” Glimmer asked.

“Yeah, somebody, uh, taught it to me a while back. Showed me that I could do it,” Adora explained. Catra’s eyes narrowed a bit at the mention of this “somebody,” and the fact that Bow and Glimmer looked like they knew exactly who Adora was talking about. She’d pry later. Now was the time for looting a corpse. Adora walked over and muttered a few words, and her sword lit up with bright light. It was much easier for Catra to see what she was doing now. 

“Hey, that’s pretty handy- By the Gates, Adora!” Catra had looked up to talk to Adora for a second and nearly jumped out of her skin. Adora was shrouded in deep, dark shadows, turning her into an almost featureless silhouette in the night. And if that wasn’t bad enough, all the color was completely bleached from her body as her sword glowed. It was like she had torn the light from her own person to cast the spell, and it was _freaky._

“What?” Adora asked, not sure why Catra had been so startled, until she took a look at herself. She saw the same thing that Catra saw and dropped the sword in shock, her eyes widening as she began to freak out.

“Drop the spell!” Glimmer said, and the sword’s light was snuffed out. The alley went dark once more, and Adora returned back to normal. As she did, Catra recalled the necromancer’s words: _So you are The One Who Walks In Light. Yet I see you shrouded in shadow._ What _was_ Adora, exactly? Glimmer used her magic to create four bobbing pink orbs that hovered around Catra, steering clear of the body herself as she and Bow comforted the panicked Adora. The sword had puffed into nothingness, disappearing to wherever Adora had pulled it from in the first place.

“What was that?” Glimmer asked.

“Are you ok?” Bow followed up.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I- I just- That’s the first time I’ve used that spell. I guess I didn’t really expect _that_ to happen,” Adora answered, voice shaking. “That was kind of scary.”

Satisfied that Adora wasn’t about to drop dead, and ignoring the urge to rush over and check just to make sure, Catra went back to searching. She found a little rock in his pocket that looked useless, so she threw it over her head as she shifted through his person. She then found a spell book that she tossed at Glimmer’s feet.

“I am not touching anything that comes from this guy,” she said, avoiding the book. Adora and Bow seemed to share the sentiment.

Catra grunted and continued looking for stuff. “Suit yourself, then.” As she searched, she found a small, colorful bag with a face on it. She peered inside, but the only thing she saw was a swirling, inky darkness. “Hey, this thing might be magic,” Catra said, piquing the others’ interest. As they stood around her, she turned the bag inside out. Assorted bones tumbled out along with an old whip, way too much for any normal bag to hold, but nothing else of interest was in there.

“Wait, I know what this is,” Bow said, peering over Catra’s shoulder. “My dads told me about these. They’re called bags of holding, and they contain an extradimensional space that can hold a lot more than a normal bag. I bet this is what he used to bring the skeletons so close to the village without them being noticed.”

“Well, finders keepers,” Catra said. “It’s mine now.” Glimmer looked like she wanted to argue, but then realized she _did_ say she didn’t want anything from him.

“We should probably speak to the townsfolk now,” Adora suggested.

“Yeah, fine,” Catra agreed. “I don’t think there’s anything else on this guy, anyway.”

Going around town, they let people know that the threat had been dealt with. Glimmer also managed to heal a few injured civilians along the way with her very last reserves of magic. As the townsfolk came out, many of them came up to thank their heroes. Bow and Glimmer seemed used to it, but Adora looked as awkward as Catra felt with all the attention. Having someone come up to her and _thank_ her was something she wasn’t used to, and it looked like it was the same way with Adora. Still, the people were nice enough, and they led the five of them to a tavern that hadn’t been hit too badly in the attack. They partied there for a while until the moon was well into the sky. She saw some guard giving her dirty looks, but apparently word had gotten around that she was one of the saviors of the village, so it appeared that they were giving her a free pass this time.

As people were winding down, Catra spoke to Adora. “So… skeleton wings. And spooky light.”

Adora looked a bit uncomfortable at the reminder. “Yeah, the wings are something I’ve been able to do for a little while now. The light was new, though.”

“Did that _someone_ teach you the wings, too? Are they related to the sword?” Where in the Gates had she gotten that thing?

“Actually, this has nothing to do with a sword, or… him.”

“Him?”

“I’ll, uh, tell you later. But about the wings and the light, they’ve got something to do with my people,” Adora said, which was a surprise. “I’m… well, it turns out I’m not human.”

“Wow. I'm shocked. Shocked, I say,” Catra deadpanned.

“Oh come on, that's your reaction?” Adora said, a laugh bubbling out.

“I mean, I kinda figured it out from that fight, princess,” Catra replied with a smirk.

“Princess?”

“Yeah. You’re part of the _Princess Alliance,_ right? That makes you a princess.”

“Hmph.” Adora crossed her arms, a fake scowl plastered on her face.

“Am I wrong? I bet you even have a special title or something.”

Adora was silent, and that was all the answer Catra needed. “Well, now you’ve got to spill. Come on, what is it?”

Adora begrudgingly admitted, “She-Ra. Princess of Power.”

Catra almost choked on her drink before bursting out into laughter, making several patrons turn her way. “Gates, really? That’s the lamest thing I've ever heard.”

“Shut up,” Adora said, trying not to smile.

“Whatever you say, _She-Ra, Princess of Power,”_ Catra said, making an exaggerated bow. Adora just gave her a shove as she cackled. As they got quiet, Catra scowled inwardly as she realized they were acting like old friends. Like nothing had changed. She kicked herself for talking like that, for treating Adora like nothing was wrong so easily. She was still mad at Adora. Still a bunch of things at Adora. Now was no time for talking like pals. And yet...

Adora asked her, “So what are you going to do now?” Catra thought for a moment. What should she do here? This was her perfect opportunity. She could slip into Bright Moon, where it would be child’s play completing her mission. She could kill Bow and Glimmer, capture Adora, and finally earn Shadow Weaver’s respect.

“I was thinking, maybe, I’d just go with the three of you,” Catra said.

“Four of us!” Swift Wind protested.

“Fine, four of you.”

Adora’s smile was blinding. “Y- Yes! Of course you can come with us! That would be-”

“Hold on,” Catra said, holding up her hands before Adora could gush any more. “Look, you… you saved my life, alright? So I owe you. That’s why I’m tagging along. This is _not_ because I like you.” It was only a partial lie, since she _did_ hate owing people. As for the liking part... no comment.

“I mean- I didn’t say anything,” Adora said, a small grin making an appearance on her face.

"Yes! A new member for the Best Friend Squad!" Bow cheered, approaching them.

"Is this really happening?" Glimmer groaned as she followed close behind.

"What's wrong, Sparkles?" Catra asked smugly. "Something the matter?"

"You're so-" Glimmer threw her hands up in the air. "Could we at least get an apology for Thaymor?"

"I don't _do_ apologies, Sparkles," Catra retorted. That was her thing. No apologies, ever. _Sorry_ was a weakness. Looking at Adora's face, though, she was forced to cave. But only a little bit. "But... I guess it's a good thing that I didn't throw that dagger at your neck or something."

Glimmer gave a small grunt, but didn't push the matter further.

"And you, Arrow boy. Maybe it wasn't so bad that I intentionally missed a few times when I chucked your arrows back at you."

"Intentionally, huh?" Bow asked, teasing. "You sure about that?"

"Don't push it," Catra said. "You were the one who stuck _me_ with arrows _,_ not the other way around. I tend to hold grudges."

"Well, I guess I'll have to try extra hard to get you to forgive me," Bow said as he smiled. Adora was smiling too, seeing that her friends weren't at each others' throats anymore.

Catra was struck with indecision. Something about the group she found herself in made her hesitate. Something about Adora made her hesitate. She had made significant progress by finding them and getting into Bright Moon. But… maybe she didn’t have to carry out her mission just yet.

“Oh hey, you’ve got something right there,” Catra said, pointing to a dark spot on Adora’s face. She wiped at the spot Catra was pointing to, but it didn’t come off. Looking closer, Catra realized it wasn’t a piece of food or a leftover injury. It was a shadow. A shadow deeper than normal that remained on Adora’s face, unusual for the light of the room. It reminded her of the recent light magic incident, but this time the shadow was sticking around.

“Did I get it?” Adora asked, still rubbing the spot.

“Uh… yeah,” Catra lied.

Weird.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You ever start writing an encounter and realize halfway through that one of your PCs has an ability that completely negates one of their opponent's strengths? DO YOU REALIZE HOW FEW WIZARD SPELLS THERE ARE THAT DON'T REQUIRE VERBAL COMPONENTS?
> 
> Oh well. I'm pretty happy with that fight, all things considered. It's the romantic subplots that get me. Once again, constructive criticism is always welcome.
> 
> SPELL LIST  
> "...Glimmer cast some sort of spell on herself that encased her body in a blue protective force." Glimmer used Mage Armor  
> "As she finished the spell, a veil of shadow and silence radiated out from her..." Catra used Pass Without Trace  
> "...she focused on where the necromancer stood and sapped the sound from the air..." Catra used Silence  
> "Two beams of sparking energy burst from the hilt of the sword..." Adora used Eldtrich Blast  
> "With a flash, spectral guardians danced around her..." Glimmer used Spirit Guardians  
> "Glimmer wasn’t doing too shabby either, blasting off bolts of radiant power..." Glimmer used Sacred Flame multiple times  
> "The four watched as their target teleported away somewhere..." Tung Lashor used Dimension Door  
> "Magic abilities now available, she began to chant as she imbued her sword with thunderous energy for each strike." Adora used Booming Blade multiple times  
> "Adora let out a shadowy burst of necrotic energy to send them staggering." Adora used Arms of Hadar  
> "...Adora cast a spell behind her and his body stiffened up..." Adora used Hold Person  
> "...his claws were buried in her abdomen, encased with a sickly green energy." Tung Lashor used Vampiric Touch  
> "Catra looked over to see Swift Wind casting some kind of magic on Glimmer..." Swift Wind used Protection from Poison  
> "'Some kind of spell he cast that made her sick.'" Tung Lashor used Ray of Sickness (offscreen)  
> "The warm feeling returned as Catra’s injuries began to heal further..." Glimmer used Cure Wounds (Twinned Spell)  
> "Glimmer and Swift Wind took turns healing everyone as much as they could." Glimmer+Swift Wind used Cure Wounds multiple times  
> "...her sword lit up with bright light." Adora used Light  
> "Glimmer used her magic to create four bobbing pink orbs that hovered around Catra..." Glimmer used Dancing Lights  
> "Glimmer also managed to heal a few injured civilians along the way with her very last reserves of magic." Glimmer used Cure Wounds multiple times


	11. Princess Prom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Best Friend Squad goes to Princess Prom, along with a few other familiar faces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not the most exciting chapter, I'm afraid. A bunch of setting up for the next two or three ahead, mostly. Sorry about that. More coming soon, though!
> 
> Also, I still can't describe clothing well to save my life. Gotta love it.

Scorpia was pacing rings in the floor as Entrapta sat in the First Ones’ ruin deep under the Guild of Shadows temple. “What if something happened to her?” she asked for the thousandth time. “It’s been way too long and we still haven’t heard from her. What if she’s out there all alone and scared? What if someone hurt her again? If anyone has touched a hair on her head, I’ll-”

“You know, being this stressed out can have serious health effects,” Entrapta said over her shoulder. “Catra is perfectly capable of taking care of herself.” Scorpia shot her a dubious look, and she amended her statement. “Catra is… adequate when it comes to not dying, at the very least. Look, you need something to get your mind off of her.”

“That’s the thing, though,” Scorpia said. “I can’t stop worrying about her. She just up and leaves without saying goodbye to us, and then goes dark for all this time?”

“I know!” Entrapta cried, shooting up straight. “You got an invitation to Princess Prom. Let’s go to that!”

“What?” Scorpia stuttered as the other girl pulled out the scroll that was her invitation. “We can’t- we can’t go there! And wait, why are you looking through my stuff?”

Ignoring the question, Entrapta continued to push. “Why not? You’re a princess, aren’t you?”

“Well, yeah,” Scorpia said, tapping her pincers together. “But I mean, they probably just sent that on a technicality. I’m a princess, yeah, but I’m the princess of the kingdom that surrendered their lands to the Horde.”

“So? It only happens once every ten years, and besides, it’s just a giant social experiment to observe! It’ll be fun!”

“Social experiment?” Scorpia asked, head cocked.

“Different groups are thrown together and forced to mingle. Hierarchies form and break. It’s the perfect place to observe behavior!” the artificer babbled excitedly. “And they’ll have tiny food! You know how much I love tiny food!”

“Yeah, but we won’t really be able to observe _anything_ if they just throw us out of the door. There’s no way they’d let us in, Entrapta. We’re _Horde._ ”

“They don’t care about that. It’s a neutral gathering; there’s no fighting allowed. We’d be fine,” Entrapta waved her hands dismissively at the scorpionfolk’s concerns.

Scorpia looked up. She hadn’t realized that. “For real? How do you know?”

“I’ve researched the protocol for all major kingdoms and events in Etheria! I had a lot of time on my hands in that town before Hordak found me, and I didn’t spend _all_ of it tinkering in my old workshop.” Entrapta declared, before adding, “Just most of it, though.”

“I don’t know,” Scorpia said, still hesitant. “I’m not sure we’d be exactly welcome.”

“Who cares what anyone else thinks? People always called me a weirdo back in the day, but I never let that stop me.” Entrapta said, before adding, “And also there’ll be a lot of people there. Maybe someone will have information on a certain tabaxi roaming the countryside.”

Scorpia brightened up. “You think so?”

“You’ll never know unless we go,” Entrapta said in a singsong voice.

“Then we should go! You’re right, there’s gotta be someone there who knows something. What are we waiting for? Let’s get on the road,” Scorpia exclaimed.

“Yes! Social experiment, here we come!” Entrapta cheered.

They made their way up to the temple, navigating through the dark tunnels until they breached the surface. They then went to pick up traveling supplies they needed, avoiding the creepy dungeon near their rooms as they always did. Strange, disturbing noises were constantly coming from that room, resembling the blood-curdling screeches of a dying animal.

“I’m never gonna get used to that,” Scorpia remarked as they walked by.

“If only I could document the source of the noises,” Entrapta said, longing apparent in her voice. “I’d love to research whatever’s behind that door.”

“Well, you know how Shadow Weaver is about that place. And besides, no reason to get her even more worked up than she already is,” Scorpia shuddered at the thought of the unnerving woman and the idea of turning her ire onto her. The leader of the Guild of Shadows had been in a foul mood for a while now, made clear enough by the screams of rage that reverberated through the halls a few days ago. Her disposition had not improved at all since then, making most inhabitants go out of their way to avoid her at all costs. Not that she came out of the Black Garnet chamber often, but no reason to invite her wrath down on them.

They retrieved the necessary items and left the temple, grabbing horses from the stables. No one stopped them, since most in the Guild of Shadows tended to avoid talking to the positive scorpionfolk and the eccentric human. They were, however, watched from afar as Shadow Weaver observed them riding off. “Now where are they going?” she drawled.

\-------------------------

Catra was avoiding Adora. That had to have been it. There was no other explanation for why she barely saw the other girl after arriving back in Bright Moon. Ever since they had gotten back, receiving a warm greeting from King Micah, Catra had apparently taken it upon herself to make sure she was never in the same room as Adora at the same time. 

It hurt, honestly. Adora had considered the possibility she might never see Catra again for the past ten years. But then she had come back into Adora’s life, and it was like a miracle. Catra had made no attempt to keep in contact with Adora in her time in the Horde. But as soon as she came crashing into Adora and looked up at her face with those eyes of hers, any anger she may have held just drained away.

She had been hopeful, then, that their reuniting would allow them to rekindle their friendship. Catra had even asked to come with them! But then… this. She couldn’t figure Catra out at all. One minute, they were laughing together like back in the old days. The next minute, she was putting an entire castle between herself and Adora. One sparring session with Netossa, she found herself venting her frustrations to the other woman.

“Gates, Adora, she sounds like a handful,” Netossa remarked.

“I just don’t get it,” Adora said. “What’s going on with her? Did I do something wrong?”

“Doesn’t sound like it,” Netossa replied. “She’s avoiding you for some reason. But you’ll never know why until you talk it out with her.”

“But I don’t want to force her to talk to me, though,” Adora protested. “If something’s wrong, I’d rather she come to me.”

“She seems like the stubborn type, though. You might have to drag the answers out of her,” Netossa stated.

“You just need to find an opportunity to get her to open up to you,” Spinnerella, who was watching them nearby, called out. She walked up to Adora and continued. “She’s probably had a rough time adjusting here. It’s a pretty big shift, changing sides and all. It’s quite possible she doesn’t feel comfortable in Bright Moon just yet. You should find a way to make her feel more at ease here first, then I’ll bet she will start telling you what’s wrong.”

“But how do I do that when she’s made it her mission not to be anywhere near me?” Adora asked.

Spinnerella’s eyebrows furrowed. “Hmmm… Well, maybe you could invite her to go along with you to the-”

“PRINCESS PROM!” two voices in the distance. The three women turned to see Bow and Glimmer barreling down the steps to where they stood in the castle yard. “Princess Prom! Princess Prom! We are going to Princess Prom!”

Adora froze. “I completely forgot about that! Wait, is that happening tonight? Oh no, I was so caught up with Catra and everything that happened that I forgot to research!”

“Adora, it’s a party. The point is to have _fun,_ not waste your time doing boring research,” Netossa said. “And the Princess Prom is a perfect opportunity for you! Just invite Catra to go as your plus one. There’s no way you two can’t figure things out then. How could she _not_ be able to relax there?”

“And you know, it will be a good opportunity for you to relax too,” Spinnerella added. “You’ve been working hard ever since you got here, everyone can see that. But you shouldn’t run yourself ragged.”

“You _do_ have bags under your eyes,” Netossa noted.

“Wait, really?”

“Or just some super weird shadows. I don’t know. You are looking a bit paler, too. But Spinny’s right, this is a chance for you to cut loose. Relax, have fun, and hopefully you’ll be able to patch things up with your friend.”

“If you say so,” Adora said.

“But seriously, if she keeps that dumb aloof act up, I say take matters into your own hands to snap her out of it.”

"Netossa!"

"What? A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do."

At that point, Bow and Glimmer had made their way down to them. “It’s gonna be so much fun! Dancing, food, fancy dresses,” Glimmer gushed.

“Well, we’ll leave you to it,” Spinnerella said, waving farewell as she and Netossa left the yard.

“Wait, dancing?” Adora asked, suddenly nervous. She had no idea how to dance, since it wasn’t like the Horde would have taught her.

“It only happens once a decade. I’ve been waiting for years for this night!” Glimmer continued. “And you’re coming too, being a Princess and all.”

“Yeah, there’s no way we’re going to let you miss your first ever Princess Prom,” Bow said. “You can even bring Catra as a plus one!”

“Oh, I- I actually was, um, thinking of doing that,” Adora admitted.

“Aw,” Bow said, putting his hands over his heart while Glimmer groaned.

“Why did I think that this wouldn’t happen,” Glimmer grumbled before adopting a more resolute air. “Nope, I’m not letting her ruin this. This is going to be fun. Yep, so much fun. And besides, Princess Frosta of the Kingdom of the Snows is hosting this year. She’d be a fantastic addition to the Rebellion. This could be huge for us.”

Adora’s face fell at the thought. So much for a night of relaxation. If they couldn’t recruit Frosta-

“Hey,” Glimmer said, walking up next to her. “Don’t worry. We’re all in this together. I’ll be right there with you, and so will Bow since he’s going as my plus one.”

“Uh, actually…” Bow said, looking a bit sheepish. He looked like he was trying to work up the courage to say something, but Glimmer cut him off.

“Together, the three of us can handle anything!”

“Well, there’s Catra. And Swift Wind,” Adora added.

“Oh yeah. Them too, I guess.”

“So about that…” Bow tried again, but once more he was ignored by Glimmer.

“It’s the Best Friend Squad in action! Right, Bow?” she exclaimed, turning to the half elf boy.

“I’mgoingwithPerfuma,” Bow said, almost too quick to understand.

Glimmer’s face immediately transformed into a look of shock and betrayal. “What?” she cried. Bow and Adora flinched at the volume. It looked to Adora like Bow didn’t expect Glimmer to be this surprised.

“She asked and I said yes. I didn’t think it would be a big deal,” Bow defended himself.

“It’s not. It’s fine,” Glimmer said. It certainly didn’t _seem_ fine. “I’m just… surprised. I mean, when did you two even talk about it?”

“Oh, she was super slick,” Bow stated. “You see…”

_Bow took off after Adora, followed by the forces of Plumeria. Had she just gone charging into a super-fortified Horde encampment by herself? Well, she was riding Swift Wind, so she wasn’t technically alone, but still. They were going to have to have a serious talk about this later. As he ran to catch up, bursting through the shattered walls along with the rest of the Plumerians, Perfuma was suddenly there at his side. “Wanna go to the Princess Prom with me?” she asked, having to raise her voice in the din of combat. It didn’t seem like a bad idea, so he agreed without much hesitation._

“ _That’s_ super slick?” Glimmer asked.

“Wait, she asked you when you were all running after me?” Adora followed up.

“I thought it’d be fun,” Bow said. “And Perfuma’s cool.”

“Yeah, she’s fine,” Glimmer said with a beat of hesitation to her voice. “But we always go to events together. We have all our routines, we wear matching outfits, we share inside jokes. And then we eat ice cream afterwards. It’s our thing.”

“Well, there’s nothing wrong with a new thing,” Bow stated. “Look, I should start getting my stuff together. We’ll hang with you there. Adora, go talk to Catra!” He walked away to his room, and Glimmer stood there, eyes following him as he disappeared into the halls of the castle.

“But I liked our old thing,” she said, almost too quiet for Adora to hear it.

“Hey, it’s alright,” Adora tried to reassure her friend. “It’s not the end of the world.”

“Yeah… right,” Glimmer said somberly. “Why... why don’t you go invite Catra or whatever. I’m going to go get ready. My dad will teleport us there when it’s time to leave, he’s got a circle linked to the Kingdom of the Snows.” She walked away, dejected. Adora could tell her friend was hurt, but she had no idea what to do about it. So she could only watch as her friend left for her room too.

Well, there was just one thing left to do now. Go talk to Catra. Adora navigated her way through the castle until she had found the room given to Catra when she had first arrived. King Micah had known of her coming arrival from Glimmer’s sending stone, so he had a room prepared for when she got there. 

Catra had been cordial enough when being introduced to the King, but she hadn’t interacted with him much after arriving, or really anyone else at all. People had seen her prowling the castle once in a while, but she seemed to prefer being left alone, and that was fine by most of the inhabitants of Bright Moon. For Adora, though, it was nothing but painful. She wanted more than anything to repair their bond, but first she had to get Catra to let her in.

She steeled herself, then knocked a few times on the door. No answer. “Catra, it’s me. Are you in there?” Silence. “Hey, I want to talk to you about something.” Still nothing. “Please?”

“You about to bust down my door, princess?” Adora spun to see Catra leaned up against the wall behind her. _Oh._ So she hadn’t been in there after all. “What is it that you want?”

“So, uh, I wanted to ask you something.”

“Is it important?”

“Um, yeah, kind of.”

“Spit it out, then.”

“So there’s this party-”

“So? What does that have to do with me?”

“Well, apparently all princesses are invited, so that includes me.”

“Brilliant display of logic. You want a medal or something?”

“Would you stop that?” Adora snapped. Catra’s eyes widened in surprise. “Sorry. Look, let me start over. There’s a party that’s happening tonight, and it would mean a lot to me if you came as my plus one.”

“You want… me. Really?” Catra asked, as if she couldn’t believe that Adora was being serious.

“Yeah. It’s just…” _I hate how you’re avoiding me and I know that something’s wrong and I want to be able to help you but I need you to talk to me and maybe this is our chance to do that? Well, I can’t say that. Think, Adora!_ “I, uh, think it’s a good opportunity for you to get acquainted with the other members of the Princess Alliance! And you know, it’s a party, so there will be, uh… food… and stuff.” _Smooth, Adora._

Catra just looked at her for a long time. “I wouldn’t have to wear some stupid dress, right?” she finally spoke.

“Nope. If you need help finding something to wear-”

“Nuh uh,” Catra said, holding up a hand. “I’ll figure it out by myself.”

“Oh, ok. But you’re coming?” Adora said, hopefulness leaking from her voice.

“Fine,” Catra gritted out. “But only because I’m bored here.”

Adora could live with that, as long as it meant that Catra was coming along.

“Now get out of here so I can find something to wear.”

“I’ll come get you in a few hours, ok?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Adora skipped through the halls, beaming, before she realized that she had to find something to wear as well. She imagined that chain mail and a magic sword and shield probably wasn’t the best look at a party. She had no prior experience when it came to this sort of formal occasion, though, which led her to Glimmer’s room. There, they helped each other find an outfit for Princess Prom. Adora’s final pick was a sleeveless, elegant red dress with a thin golden belt wrapped around her waist. Glimmer’s was a purple dress with a frilly tutu that went down to her knees.

When the time came at last, Adora went to go grab Catra. Knocking on the door, a few moments passed before it was opened. Adora had to stop her jaw from dropping to the floor as she saw Catra wearing a dark burgundy suit with a maroon shirt underneath it. A bowtie hung untied around her neck, and as Adora looked down she could see that Catra wasn’t wearing any shoes. She had always refused to wear them as a kid, and it looked like old habits died hard.

“What?” Catra said, and Adora noticed she’d been staring.

“Oh, uh, nothing! You, um, you look… really nice,” Adora stuttered. Really nice? _Really nice?_ She looked absolutely _breathtaking,_ but of course she couldn’t say that _._

Catra just grunted and stepped out of the door. “Well, let’s go to this thing already.”

They went down to the teleportation circle room where King Micah stood waiting. “Oh, it’s my baby girl’s first Princess Prom,” he said, tears welling in his eyes. “I remember mine like it was yesterday. Oh, what a night that was.” A fond smile appeared on his face as he recalled the memory. “Hey, don’t get yourself too worked up over recruiting Princess Frosta, though. This is a party, first and foremost, a chance for you all to relax and wind down. Take it easy tonight, ok?”

“Ok, dad,” Glimmer said, forcing a smile. “I’ll try.”

“Now where’s Bow?” Micah asked.

As if on queue, Bow burst through the door. He was wearing a white suit with a bow tie and black pants, and his stomach was exposed as always. He beamed as he entered the room. “I’m ready to go,” he declared.

“Wait!” They all turned to see Swift Wind racing towards them in horse form.

“Oh, great,” Micah muttered. He still hadn’t gotten over his dislike of the shifter.

Swift Wind skidded to a stop in front of them and cried, “There’s a party and no one told me about it?”

“You _really_ like this kind of thing, don’t you Hopper?” Catra asked.

Swift Wind shot her an annoyed look and said, “Well, there’s no way I’m not going with you.”

“I’m not sure they’d appreciate a horse in the castle,” Glimmer said.

“Ha! Like that’s a problem,” Swift Wind said as he shifted into a frog. “This is a small price to pay for party time.” Catra snorted at that.

“Well, if everyone else is ready to go,” King Micah said. “Have fun! Tell me everything when you get back!” He activated the spell and the glyphs below them lit up, encasing them in light as Glimmer’s dad waved goodbye. In a flash, they were off to Princess Prom.

\-------------------------

Catra had been avoiding Adora. Avoiding everyone, actually. Ever since they had arrived at Bright Moon Castle, Catra had done everything she could to stay away from the three cheery idiots who had saved her life and brought her there. She couldn’t stand the thought of being near them right now. Well, couldn’t stand the idea of being near Adora right now. Ever since the village, Adora had treated Catra weird. It was the complete opposite of what she had expected to happen meeting her again. She had expected her to be cold or uncaring or even angry, like she tried to act. Instead, Adora treated her like they were still old friends. _Then why did she hurt me?_ Catra thought to herself. _Why did she abandon me for ten years?_

But still, as she roamed the halls of the castle, she found herself hesitating time and time again. It would be so easy. Sneaking into each of their rooms would be a cakewalk. She knew that because she had tried it. It was almost pathetic how simple it had been to slip into their quarters. But as she stood there in the night, she found that she couldn’t do it. The thought of killing Bow and Glimmer left a sick feeling in her stomach. They had been… nice to her. Nicer than people had been to her in a long time. They could be annoying, Glimmer especially, but they were almost fun to be around. They reminded her of Scorpia and Entrapta, just a little. Suddenly, killing them seemed a lot like killing her two other friends.

As for kidnapping Adora, that gave her an even worse feeling. _She doesn’t care about you,_ Catra had to tell herself. Yet she couldn’t shake the memories of Adora in that alleyway. Holding her hands, telling her she was strong, telling her that she’d be right there with her. All these emotions whirled around inside Catra like a hurricane, leaving her with such a sense of confusion. She couldn’t fail Shadow Weaver. She desperately wanted to prove to her that she was worth something. She wanted to prove that she was just as strong as Adora, who Shadow Weaver would stop at nothing to get her hands on.

But when she saw Adora, asleep and mumbling something about a gray skull, there was something that made her stop in her tracks. Even after everything that happened, she couldn’t bring herself to complete her mission. It was all too much. Too confusing. So she hid, the best way she found to deal with it. She wandered the halls, cooped herself up in her room, anything to stay away from Adora and the mess of feelings she would inevitably bring to Catra. 

But then she had shown up at Catra’s door and asked her to some party. And she had said yes. Why had she accepted? Perhaps it was because she knew she couldn’t avoid Adora forever. Maybe she could be rid of the roiling ball of feelings in her gut tonight. She could finally decide the path she would take.

Well anyways, now she had to find something to wear. Looking through her room, she had the good luck of finding a suit someone had left in the dusty old wardrobe. Trying it on, it fit pretty well. She discarded the nice shoes that came with it, because she hated her feet being stuck in those stupid things. She didn’t bother to tie the bow tie either, instead hanging it around her neck. It looked better that way, she thought. More relaxed.

Soon, Adora was knocking at her door. When she opened it, she saw her look of surprise as she looked Catra up and down. Was she checking her out? No way. “What?” she asked, and Adora gave a start.

“Oh, uh, nothing! You, um, you look… really nice,” Adora stuttered. A flutter of _something_ bubbled up in Catra’s stomach, but she ignored it. Adora didn't look too bad herself. Not that she would ever say that out loud.

Instead, she just grunted and stepped out of the door. “Well, let’s go to this thing already.”

They made their way down to the teleportation circle room, where King Micah was saying something about his first time at the Princess Prom. What a dumb name for a dance. They were soon joined by Adora’s pet-shapeshifter-thing Swift Wind, then by Bow. She saw Glimmer tense up as he entered and wondered if they had had a fight or something. 

She didn’t have much time to think about it, though, because soon Micah was casting a spell and they were off. A horrible sensation overtook Catra as it felt like her gut was about to go flying out of her. She swore to herself then and there: no teleportation magic ever again. With a flash, they appeared in a large room, faced by a staff member of the castle of the Kingdom of the Snows. She jumped in surprise at their arrival, then said as she regained her composure, “Greetings, esteemed guests. I was stationed here by Princess Frosta in case anyone decided to travel through the old teleportation circle. There had been talk that the network had been accessed once again, and it appears that it was true. Come right this way, please.”

The aide led them through the intricate stone hallways carved out of the mountain the castle of the Kingdom of the Snows sat on. The whole place was a mix of stone and ice, carved thousands of years ago by the first dwarves in Etheria. Catra had heard stories about dwarves and their craftsmanship, among other things, but seeing their work up close was something else. If they were as good fighting as they were making this, then they would be pretty useful to have around for the Rebellion. Not that Catra particularly cared. Too bad the place was _freezing,_ though. She almost wished she had worn shoes to save her poor feet from this torture. After a little while, the tunnels opened up into a massive ballroom that was entirely made of ice.

“Whoa,” Adora whispered. “It’s _big.”_

Bow whistled appreciatively. “Now that’s what I call a winter wonderland theme.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty cool.” Glimmer said, grumpiness apparent in her voice. “Now why don’t you go off and find _Perfuma?”_ Catra had no idea who that was.

Bow, not noticing the bite in the other girl’s voice or perhaps just ignoring it, replied, “Yeah, I should get going. Talk to you guys later!” He walked off, waving. Adora waved back, but Glimmer just stood there looking hurt.

“Lovers’ spat?” Catra asked.

Glimmer turned to her, wide-eyed. “What- No! I mean- Bow and I, we’re not-”

“Alright, alright,” Catra said. “Sheesh. Just asking, that’s all.” Huh. She had thought they were together, from the way they acted around each other the first couple of days she was getting to know them.

“We should introduce ourselves to Princess Frosta,” Adora suggested. “Catra, do you want to come with us?”

“Uh, nah, I’m good,” Catra said. “I think I’m gonna hit up the buffet line.”

“And I’m going to go enjoy this _awesome_ party!” Swift Wind cried, hopping away.

“Oh, uh, bye-”

“Later.”

Catra walked off, leaving Adora and Glimmer alone.

\-------------------------

Adora was unable to smother the disappointment she felt when Catra walked away. She had hoped that this would be a chance for them to spend some time together, but it looked like Catra was just going to avoid her here, too.

“So, this place, huh,” she said to Glimmer to distract herself.

“Yeah, it’s something alright. The Princess Prom is one of our most ancient traditions. A princess’s first one is a huge rite of passage. Plus, the Kingdom of the Snows is really big,” Glimmer explained as they made their way up the frozen steps to meet Princess Frosta. There was a queue of people in front of them, so they had to wait for now.

“Which is why we need Frosta,” Adora added. “If she joins us, it’ll be huge for the Rebellion, from the way you talk about her.”

“Yeah, dwarves are expert fighters, crafters, a lot of things really. Having them on our side would make a massive difference,” Glimmer agreed.

It was almost their turn as they ascended the final steps. They could almost see Frosta now. “Ok,” Adora whispered. “Here we go.” As they made their way up the steps, they bowed, just like Glimmer had taught her to do. As she looked up and opened her mouth to speak, her eyes widened in surprise.

“You’re just a kid,” Adora said. Immediately after the words left her mouth, she realized two things. One: Princess Frosta was _not_ a kid. Though her height may have made her appear like a human girl, a closer look determined how wrong that initial thought had been. Adora could count the number of interactions she had had with dwarves on one hand, but she recognized the build and the inhumanly sharp look in the girl’s eyes as a dwarf’s. Two: That had been a _very_ unwise thing to say. She heard gasps rippling through the people who had been in earshot, and she saw Glimmer freeze up, eyes wide.

“I’m at least twice as old as you, human,” Frosta said, clearly holding back a sneer. Looking closer, her eyes widened almost imperceptibly. “Aasimar,” she corrected herself in a soft voice. “You’re the girl with the sword? The new She-Ra?”

“Yes-”

“And she is _so_ sorry, Revered Hostess. She is new to our ways, and she spoke without thinking,” Glimmer said hurriedly as she shot Adora a look that said _Are you kidding me?!?_

“Yes, I did, Princess. I mean, uh, Revered Hostess. You have my sincere apologies,” Adora agreed. Frosta stared at her, her gaze cold as ice.

“Revered Hostess,” Glimmer continued. “We come to your hall under the ancient rules of hospitality, bringing greetings from Bright Moon. And She-Ra, the legendary warrior.” The crowd burst into whispers from the confirmation of Adora’s status.

“You are welcome in the Kingdom of the Snows under the ancient rules of hospitality,” the dwarf princess responded, albeit in a neutral tone that seemed forced. “Leave conflict at the door. And please enjoy the Princess Prom.”

Glimmer shot her a massive smile before dragging Adora down the stairs. _“Are. You. Serious?”_ she whisper-shouted. “Two minutes in and you almost blow our chances?”

“I’m sorry,” Adora said. “It’s my fault, I shouldn’t have spoken without thinking.”

Glimmer managed to calm herself, looking down. “Sorry, Adora, I guess I’m just stressed out. I know this is a party, but I really want to show Frosta that joining the Rebellion is a good idea. And everything with Bow hasn’t helped.”

“Well, he’s right there,” Adora said, pointing behind Glimmer. “Why don’t you just go talk to him?”

Glimmer spun around to see what Adora was pointing to. Laughing at a table were Bow, Perfuma, Sea Hawk, and Mermista. Well, Mermista was pretending to sulk, but Adora saw a small smile on her face. Seeing the two of them, Sea Hawk’s eyes lit up and he made his way over to them. “Crewmates! It’s so good to see you! We were hoping to catch you here, and I’m so glad we did!”

“Yeah, it’s good to see you, I guess,” Mermista said as Sea Hawk put his arm around her shoulder.

“So, Sea Hawk’s your plus one?” Adora asked, smirking.

Mermista’s face went a little red. “ _No._ He is just my ride, ok? Just. My ride.” She made her point by pushing Sea Hawk off her shoulder.

“Of course,” Sea Hawk said, unphased. “ _I’m totally her plus one,”_ he whispered to Adora and Glimmer. “Now, to the buffet! Adv- oh hi, Bow, you came over here.”

They turned to see Bow walking over with Perfuma, who was wearing a flowery, pink dress.

“Hey-” Adora said, but Glimmer cut her off by wrapping an arm around her shoulder and forcing a laugh.

“That’s so funny, Adora! What a funny inside joke the two of us just came up with!”

“She-Ra! Glimmer!” Perfuma cried. “It’s great to see you.”

“Perfuma was just telling me about the time Swift Wind got stuck in this old rope trap because of all the apples that were there as bait,” Bow said, laughing.

“I will neither confirm nor deny that that happened,” Swift Wind said, popping up beside them.

“And it’s good to see you too, Swift Wind,” Perfuma said, patting his little head. “I’ve missed you.”

“Yeah, our talks were nice. Even if they were usually about flowers and stuff. But I’ve got an epic quest now! I’ve got my aasimar to protect! It’s going pretty good for ol’ Swift Wind right now.”

“And how’s that coming?” Perfuma asked as Swift Wind hopped off, presumably to keep enjoying the party. “The epic quest, I mean.”

“Well, we’re trying to recruit Princess Frosta tonight, which I might have already screwed up since I called her a little kid,” Adora admitted.

“Well, you only fail when you stop trying. I know you can do it,” Perfuma reassured her.

“Hey, thanks. Anyway, how’s your end been?” Adora asked, curious. Perfuma began to talk about how they had at last reclaimed their old home and were currently wreaking havoc on nearby Horde supply lines. It sounded like the people of Plumeria were giving the Horde a run for their money.

“Wow, that’s great, Perfuma,” Glimmer spoke up. “Isn’t this fun? Adora and I are having _such_ a great time here together. Just the two of us. Right, Adora?” Adora was too busy eyeballing the buffet line to be paying full attention. So many tasty looking foods…

“Ok,” Bow said. “Uh, we’re going to go say hi to some more people. Do you want to come?”

“No, you guys go on. We’ll find you later,” Glimmer said. “I want to hear the rest of this _hilarious_ story that Adora was just telling.”

Shrugging, Bow and Perfuma walked off. Adora glanced over to see Frosta standing alone, away from the crowds. Seeing this as an opportunity, Adora said, “Hey, I’m going to try to smooth things over with her. Coming?” Glimmer gave no response, just staring dejectedly at the space where Bow had been. “Ok, never mind. I’ll just be right back.” She went over to where Frosta stood. “Revered Hostess. I’d like to apologize again for before, that was incredibly rude of me.”

“Yes, it was,” she replied coldly, not looking at her. “But as you’re only an _honorary_ princess, you can’t be expected to know any better.”

Ignoring the jab, Adora pushed on. “Your kingdom is truly beautiful, Princess Frosta,” she said, going for a different approach. “I’m honored to be here.”

“Thank you,” Frosta replied. “And now I expect you’re going to ask me to join the Rebellion?”

“You know about that?”

“Of course I do,” the other princess said, turning to face her. “How could I _not?_ My parents died in the Wailing Morn’. I know about the Princess Alliance all too well.”

“Oh. I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Hmph. Thanks.”

“Princess Frosta, the Rebellion needs you. Your kingdom is one of the strongest in Etheria. I’ve heard so many stories about your people’s fighting capabilities. Your alliance could be the key to defeating the Horde.”

“The Horde hasn’t threatened us here. It only did when we left our lands, stuck our noses into things that didn’t concern us. My parents died because of it. They won’t come to the Kingdom of the Snows.”

“The only reason they haven’t come here yet is because it’s so out of the way it doesn’t matter to Hordak right now. Joining the Rebellion is obviously your best bet.”

“The Kingdom of the Snows has defended itself perfectly well for thousands of years. The Horde will never get to us here. My people have lost enough because of the Rebellion. I will not subject them to any more suffering. I don’t care that you’re an aasimar. I don’t care that you found some ancient magic sword. I will not jeopardize the safety of my people rushing headfirst into a fool’s errand. Now, please continue to join the Princess Prom.”

Adora watched as Frosta walked off. Well, that could have gone better. She wished she had known about Frosta’s parents. What had happened exactly on that terrible day? It seemed neither side liked to talk much about that battle. She still didn’t know all the details. Adora sighed to herself. She needed food. All this drama was making her hungry. She walked over to the buffet line where she was met with a face she hadn’t seen practically all night.

“Hey, Adora.”

\-------------------------

Catra almost felt bad for Adora. She could see a bit of hurt flash across Adora’s face, but by that point she was already walking away. She wanted no part in their politics. This was a party, a time to mess around and do things you’d regret in the morning. Not that she’d ever been to one, but she knew enough, having not grown up under a rock. She wandered around, looking for the food, and saw Bow talking together with a wood elf girl in a dress _covered_ in flowers. Seriously, who made a dress with that much flowers? Catra figured that the girl must be Perfuma. She also saw a half elf man wearing a bizarre mash up of a pirate getup and a fancy suit who wouldn’t stop bursting into song, followed by a triton girl whose only expression seemed to be a scowl. Those weirdos were probably friends of Adora’s, she bet, judging by their wacky antics. It was a match made in Eternia.

After shoving her way through the crowds, she found the buffet line at last. They had a pretty good setup, even with some stuff Catra hadn’t seen before. Most of it Catra recognized, though, because the Guild of Shadows wasn’t stingy when it came to food. Well, usually Shadow Weaver gave her the bare minimum when it came to keeping her alive, but that didn’t stop her from sneaking into the kitchens and grabbing whatever looked the tastiest. They had some surprisingly good stuff back at the temple.

She grabbed a plate and started filling it with things to eat, sitting in the corner away from people. As she snacked on her food, she saw Adora and Glimmer go up to talk to Frosta. Something must have happened, though, judging by the looks of panic on their faces. They seemed to work it out after further discussion, and they walked back down where Glimmer started hissing at Adora, upset. Then they were joined by the pirate guy and the triton- Catra felt a flicker of satisfaction knowing she had guessed right- and began to converse. 

Still watching, she watched Glimmer grab Adora and begin to laugh. The move looked too sudden, too forced for Catra until she saw Bow and Perfuma walking up to them. _Oh._ They talked together for a while, Glimmer trying way too hard to act buddy-buddy with Adora, until Bow and Perfuma walked off. At that point she was hungry again, so she went to grab some more food. Glancing around, though, she saw Adora walking toward her, looking hungry and a bit frustrated.

“Hey Adora.”

“Hey, Catra. How’s the, uh, food?”

“It’s fine,” Catra said as Adora began piling her plate high with food. That girl had to have an interdimensional portal inside her stomach or something. As Catra watched, Adora began sampling nearly every food from the table, treating each one as if it was the first time she had tried it.

“What?” Adora said, feeling Catra’s eyes on her.

“You really that hungry, princess? You’ve got enough food on that plate to feed a dragon.”

“Well, you know, there’s so much new food to try.”

“You’ve never had any of this before?”

“Well, the Horde didn’t exactly give its cadets the finest cuisine in Etheria. So yeah, this is all new to me. Wait, did you have this stuff?”

“I’ve had most of it. The Guild of Shadows had plenty of food like this from time to time.”

Adora’s face dropped a bit. “Oh. I guess one thing I was excited about was for you to try all this new food. But I guess I should have assumed that the Guild of Shadows was different from the Horde.”

“Yeah,” Catra said with venom in her voice. “You could say it was pretty _different.”_ Of course it was different. In the Horde, Adora was the perfect star child. She was Hordak’s most prized soldier, the one he treasured most for whatever reason. The girl Shadow Weaver would stop at nothing to get, even though she had Catra. In the Guild of Shadows, Catra just barely made it out of each day alive.

A look of frustration flashed on Adora’s face. “What is up with you?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You show up, out of the blue. We have to fight our way out of an undead horde together. Then you say you want to come with us. But after that you completely avoid me? And then when we talk, half of the time you look like you want to tear my head off.”

“ _Maybe I do,”_ Catra muttered to herself.

“Why did you even come to the Princess Prom with me, then?” Adora said, voice raised. A few people were starting to look their way.

“You wanna do this right here?” Catra asked.

Adora looked around, seeing the faces staring at them. “Actually, I have a better idea,” she said as her face hardened into an expression Catra couldn’t identify. All of a sudden, she was grabbing Catra and dragging her by the arm. She was powerless to pull away as Adora took her up a large icy staircase. Gates, she had the grip of a giant. At the top was a large balcony that showed the full glory of the Kingdom of the Snows and the stars above it. Standing there, just the two of them, Adora tugged Catra forward, sending her stumbling as she let go of her arm. She was now blocked from the the exit by Adora, who was standing between her and the staircase.

"What are you-"

There was no room for debate in Adora's voice as she said, “Catra, we’re going to have a talk.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got... nothing to say? Hmm. Weird. Well, see you all next time! Next chapter should be a pretty eventful one.
> 
> SPELL LIST  
> "He activated the spell and the glyphs below them lit up..." King Micah used Teleportation Circle


	12. Reconciliation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The BFS argues. Shadow Weaver shows up. Some hands are thrown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's really been a month since I posted the first chapter of The Warlock of Grayskull, huh? Time sure does fly. I was going to post this on the actual anniversary but that didn't happen on account of me having to REWRITE HALF OF THE FREAKING CHAPTER INCLUDING THE ENTIRE FIGHT SCENE. I just wanted to take a moment to thank you all for everything. I'm so deeply grateful for everyone who has read this story, everyone who decided it was good enough to merit a kudos, and everyone who took the time to write out a comment for me to see. It means so much to me that people like this, and I'm excited to continue the adventure with all of you. Hope you enjoy!

“Wow,” Scorpia gasped. “This is- this is incredible!” They stood in the doorway to the ballroom of the Kingdom of the Snows, and it was _amazing._ The entire room was masterfully carved from ice, and the room was decorated in a similar style. “They weren’t pulling any punches when they went for a winter wonderland theme. Although I guess they kinda already do that. Ice kingdom and all.” But the best part? No one cared who they were! She had been so nervous about the guards throwing them out the second they were seen, but they let them by without a fight! Now they could party and relax and also look for Catra, her friend that she was desperately worried about. Nope, no conflicting goals there.

“Oooh, look! They’ve got a buffet line! With _tiny food!”_ Entrapta squealed beside her. “I’m going to go grab some!” She all but sprinted to the buffet line, leaving Scorpia by herself.

“Ok, Scorpia,” she muttered. “You got this. There’s gotta be someone here who knows something. Probably. All you have to do is ask around. Easy enough.”

As she waded her way through the mass of people, she overheard an argument over the hubbub of the crowd. “You _forgive_ me? Glimmer, I’m allowed to hang out with other people,” a half elf boy with some kind of crop top suit said to a sparkly girl.

“B- but don’t you see? That’s how it starts! Then suddenly everyone has new friends and nobody needs me anymore, and then I’m all alone!” the sparkly girl, whose name appeared to be Glimmer, said. It _did_ fit her appearance. Were all peoples’ names here that literal? Well, not like _she_ was one to talk. She felt a little bad, eavesdropping on this couple’s argument, but what was said next stopped her in her tracks.

“What are you talking about? You have me, plus Adora, and everyone else who joined the Rebellion,” the half elf argued. 

“Wait, wasn’t Adora the name of that girl that defected? She’s here too?” Scorpia said to herself. An idea suddenly occurred to her. Catra knew Adora from somewhere, right? They must have had a bond. Maybe this _Adora_ knew where she was! All Scorpia had to do was find her.

“That’s what I’m talking about. It used to be the two of us, and now everything’s changing. I don’t want you to leave me behind,” Glimmer said.

“No one is leaving you behind. I wanted to hang out with you, Adora, Catra, _and_ Perfuma tonight, but you’re the one who keeps being weird. I know change is scary, Glimmer, but that doesn’t mean you get to take it out on me,” the half elf responded.

Their conversation faded into the distance as Scorpia’s world froze. Catra was _here?_ Why? Did she have a mission that had to do with this place? Another thought stirred in Scorpia’s mind, one she didn’t even want to consider. Did Catra… _defect?_ No. No way. Now that she knew that Catra was here, she just had to find her and let her explain herself. Then everything could go back to normal. “I’m coming, Catra,” Scorpia said as she moved to locate her friend.

As she did that, though, she was unaware of the fist-sized, luminous orb that floated above her. Invisible. Watching. Back in the Guild of Shadows temple, Shadow Weaver observed as the idiotic scorpionfolk fumbled her way through the crowds, listening in on a conversation. She saw the name _Adora_ leave her lips. Adora was in the Kingdom of the Snows? That wasn’t a massive distance away. She had put Catra up to the task. Then she had put Tung Lashor up to it. Obviously, the two had failed, otherwise they would be here with her. Perhaps it was time to take matters into her own hands. And now she knew the location of her quarry. 

“Fine,” Shadow Weaver spat just before she transformed into an ominous black mist, snaking out of the Guild of Shadows temple at an incredible speed in the direction of the Kingdom of the Snows. In the direction of Adora. Seeking. Hunting.

“I’ll do it myself.”

\-------------------------

“Catra, we’re going to have a talk,” Adora said. They were standing out on one of the balconies of the castle, which showed the full view of the Kingdom of the Snows. Huge mountains rose from the earth as far as the eye could see, with craggy peaks covered in snow. Above them, they could see the twinkling night sky, bright with stars. But this was no time for sightseeing. The tension was too high for that.

“What’s there to talk about?” Catra spat.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Adora replied, exasperated. “Why do you act like you hate me?”

“Maybe I do hate you.”

“What did I ever do to you?” Adora said as if the answer wasn’t obvious.

“You left!” Catra roared as Adora stepped back, surprised at the sudden outburst. “You said we would stick together! That nothing would happen as long as we stayed with each other! But then the Horde came, and you decided you were too good for me!”

“Catra, you can’t seriously believe that-”

“Why shouldn’t I? You left to become Hordak’s star child, and then what, that wasn’t enough? You decide you wanted to play the hero with the Rebellion instead? You ran away, Adora! You ran away from the Horde, you-” _ran away from me._

“I didn’t run away, Catra. I saw what they were doing was wrong. I had to stop them,” Adora attempted to defend herself, but Catra wasn’t having it.

“You seriously didn’t figure it out before? How thick can you be?” she shouted.

“Because if I admitted to myself that the Horde were monsters, then that meant they had torn me away from my home, from you, to make me into one too!” Adora was shouting now as well. “I had to tell myself that leaving you was for a good reason, otherwise it would have broken me.” In a shaking voice, Adora added, “It still _did_ break me.”

“Stop that,” Catra muttered. How could Adora still _do_ this to her?

“What?”

“Stop acting like you care about me!” Catra yelled, her voice beginning to rise with every word. “You don’t get to walk away for ten years and then pretend like you care! You abandoned me to Shadow Weaver! Do you know how awful it was? Do you know what she _did_ to me? DO YOU KNOW HOW I GOT MY SHADOW ARTS?” The memories flashed through her mind. The screaming. The agony. Shadow Weaver’s voice. The shadows in that dark room, reaching out, _touching_ her, grabbing hold of her and not letting go as they weaved their way into her body.

Adora’s face crumbled as tears welled up in her eyes. “Catra, I’m- I’m so sorry.”

“Well, obviously not! You haven’t bothered to care for years.” Why else? Why else would she have never bothered with Catra for a decade?

“I did care! I still do!” Adora screamed. “You think I didn’t cry myself to sleep for months afterward, missing you? You think I didn’t try everything I could think of to talk to you? I sent you letters, Catra! For years! You never responded to any of them! And you think _I_ don’t care?”

“What letters? I never got any letters. What in the Gates are you talking about?”

“What do you mean, _what letters_? I wrote to you almost every day, Catra! I made sure they got to you! I gave them to-” Adora’s face suddenly paled and she looked both horrified and furious with herself. “... Shadow Weaver.”

A memory surfaced in Catra’s mind. She was maybe about ten or eleven years old, and she was wandering through the halls of the Guild of Shadows temple. A sound caught her attention- the sound of crackling flames. She crept closer to the sound to find Shadow Weaver in a room with a fireplace. She was burning something, several somethings. As she tossed them one by one into the flames, Catra realized what they were: Letters. Shadow Weaver turned and saw the girl, the firelight reflecting off her mask and giving her a demonic look. “Get out!” she roared, and Catra bolted like her life depended on it. Later, Shadow Weaver had punished her by making her clean the stables spotless. As she swept up the mess, it occurred to her that the scrawly, childlike handwriting on the letters looked an awful lot like Adora’s.

She had dismissed that thought for years, but now it came back and hit her like a punch to the face. She searched Adora’s face, desperately scanning for any sign of deceit. But as she looked at, _really_ looked at, the girl that stood before her, she saw no lies written there. Catra’s face went slack as her eyes widened.

She was telling the truth.

Adora was telling the _truth._

Adora ran her hands through her hair as she hissed, “I’m such an _idiot._ Catra, I’m so sorry. I swear to you, I never wanted to leave you behind. For years, I thought you weren’t responding because you didn’t want me in your life anymore, but- Catra?” 

Catra just stood there frozen as ten years of pain and anger began to crack apart in front of her. _Shadow Weaver_ did this to her? To them? _She_ kept the two apart for all these years? As her vision began to go red, Catra realized she was still holding her glass from earlier. With a scream, she hurled it at the wall behind Adora, making her flinch. It shattered against the wall with a resounding crash.

“Catra!”

She needed something, _anything_ else to smash, or else her head was going to burst. She could feel the blood pounding in her skull as she glanced around angrily, looking for her next victim. She went storming over to the next fragile-looking thing when suddenly-

“Catra, stop!”

Adora’s arms were around her. She tried to free herself, but her grip was once again unyielding.

“Let go of me!”

“Catra, _please-”_

“Stop it! Stop…” Catra crumpled in Adora’s arms, sobbing. The storm of anger in her head was shattered, replaced by sadness as the other girl hugged her even tighter. Gates, now they were _both_ crying as Catra wrapped her arms around Adora and pulled her close.

“Catra, it’s ok. It’s ok.”

“Adora,” Catra sobbed as they sank to the ground.

“I’m right here, Catra.”

“Adora, I’m- I’m _sorry_ .” _For everything_ . Catra hated apologies, hated the weakness that _sorry_ brought. But here in Adora’s arms, that was all she could feel. Sorry. For years, she had thought Adora abandoned her. But all this time, she had still cared. Even after Catra tried to kill her friends. Even after the things she had said to her. Under the swirling storm of anger that Catra kept inside her, a new emotion appeared. Something she had been trying to hide for years, putting up walls around it to pretend it wasn’t there. Longing.

“I’m never leaving you again, Catra. You hear me? Never.”

“... You promise?” Catra’s voice was small, quiet. Hopeful.

“I promise.” She was telling the truth.

“... Ok.”

They both sat there in silence before Adora suddenly asked, “Dance with me?”

Catra sniffed. “Are you serious right now?”

She could practically feel the heat rising from Adora’s cheeks as she furiously backpedaled. “I- I’m sorry, I don’t know why I said that. It was stupid of me to ask that right now, and-”

“Do you even know _how_ to dance?”

“Well, no, but I thought I could, um, figure it out? With you?”

Catra just chuckled, wiping her tears. “You’re such an idiot.”

Adora laughed softly too. “I guess I am.”

They unwrapped themselves from each other, Catra trying to hide the blush on her face. If she didn’t know any better, she could have sworn that Adora was in the same situation. A bit of an awkward silence filled the air as the two girls stood there, unsure of what to say. Catra opened her mouth to speak, but she was cut off by a familiar voice behind her.

“Catra?” The two of them turned and to Catra’s shock, there stood Scorpia in a sleek black dress.

“Scorpia? What are you doing here?”

“I overheard some people talking about two people who came up here, and they said one was a tabaxi, so I thought it might be you.”

“No, I mean, what are you doing _here?”_

“Looking for you, of course! Catra, do you know how worried-”

“Wait a second,” Adora cut in. “Scorpia? As in, _Force Captain_ Scorpia?” She moved in front of Catra protectively.

“Yeah, that’s me. You’re Adora? The defector?” The question sounded more like a statement when Scorpia said it like that.

“Adora-” Catra warned.

“And you’re _Horde,”_ Adora hissed. “What are you doing here?”

“Looking for my friend,” Scorpia said, a bit of bite to her voice. “And in case you didn’t realize, this is a neutral gathering. I have a right to be here.”

“But you’re not a princess,” Catra said, confused.

Scorpia’s face shifted from hostile to almost embarrassed. “Well…”

Both Adora and Catra blinked in surprise. “Seriously? And you didn’t tell me?” Catra asked.

“Well, it’s not like you have the best track record for sharing your past either,” Scorpia said defensively. “I don’t like talking about it.”

“You know her, Catra?” Adora asked.

“We met in the Guild of Shadows,” Catra replied. “Known each other for a while.”

“You can’t just disappear like that, Catra!” Scorpia said. “Now will you _please_ explain why you left and what you’re doing here, so-”

She was cut off from whatever else she was about to say by a loud rumbling from the castle. The three of them rushed back inside to see what was wrong. In the ballroom, it was chaos. As the lights flickered and faded in strength, people were screaming and running around, bolting for the nearest exit. And it wasn’t hard to see why. In the center of the room, shadows oozing from her form, there stood Shadow Weaver herself. Catra’s world froze around her. _Oh no._

“Was this your plan all along?” Adora hissed, spinning on Scorpia. Her sword manifested in her hand with a flash, pointing right to Scorpia’s throat.

“I didn’t know about this, I swear!” Scorpia said, pincers raised. She looked genuinely taken aback.

“We have bigger problems then her, Adora,” Catra said, snapping herself out of her stupor. “Look!” Naturally, Bow, Glimmer, and a few others were rushing to fight her, but with a wave of her hands Shadow Weaver created a twisting mass of colors that weaved through the air. They vanished after a split second, but they left anyone nearby motionless and staring, mouths agape. Even Swift Wind was affected by the strange magic, staring blankly into space. Entrapta, however, had her back turned so that she hadn’t seen the hypnotizing effect. Unfortunately, she seemed too entranced with the tiny food to notice that anything was amiss.

“Pathetic,” they heard Shadow Weaver hiss. “This is the mighty Rebellion? A few ragtag princesses? I could kill you all where you stood. Right now. It would be so _easy.”_ The tendrils of darkness started to lash out near where Bow and Glimmer were.

“Stay away from them!” Adora shouted, appearing with a flash in front of her.

“Adora,” Shadow Weaver said, that sickeningly sweet tone entering her voice. “I had hoped to find you here.”

“Shadow Weaver!” Scorpia said as Catra and she made their way down the steps. Not _everyone_ had magic teleportation powers. “What- what are you doing? This is a neutral gathering, there’s no fighting-”

“Do not presume to tell me what to do, _insect,”_ Shadow Weaver spat. Scorpia’s eyes widened in surprise and disbelief. Her gaze then turned to Catra. “And _you_. I give you one, simple job, and you can’t even do that.”

“You’re not going to get away with this,” Adora vowed.

“A shame,” Shadow Weaver said, ignoring Adora for the moment. Her voice had adopted a softer tone she didn’t usually use on Catra. “Perhaps if you went through with it right now, I could be persuaded to forget this grievous failure. Completing a monumental mission such as yours would be… impressive. You’d be an asset to the Guild then for sure.”

“Catra?” Adora asked nervously. Catra stood motionless, a war raging in her mind. Despite everything, a small part of her asked, _Really? Would you finally recognize me then?_ Everything she had ever wanted from Shadow Weaver was right there in front of her. This could be her chance to prove herself. She could show she was worth as much as Adora was. After ten years of being treated like dirt, this was her opportunity. She could be respected, even loved by her mentor. She could hear Shadow Weaver say to her, _Good work, Catra. I’m proud of you._ All she had to do was complete her mission.

But then other parts of her pushed back as flashes of memories appeared. Adora, holding her hands as she told her she believed in her. Adora’s face lighting up when she told her she would stay. Adora, hugging her as she sobbed in her arms. Adora cared about her. She protected her. She wanted Catra to stay with her. But she couldn’t just walk away from Shadow Weaver. Could she? It went back and forth. Shadow Weaver. Adora. Shadow Weaver. Adora.

And Catra couldn’t decide.

“Useless,” Shadow Weaver hissed as Catra made no move to do anything, a faraway look in her eyes. She raised a hand as if to begin casting a spell on her, but Adora blocked her path.

As Catra’s mind clashed with itself, the world faded into the background. She heard Shadow Weaver talking in that tone of voice that she reserved only for speaking about Adora. She heard the other girl saying something back, sounding angry. She heard Shadow Weaver’s hiss, then the sounds of magic as a fight lit up the room. It all sounded muted to Catra, like she was underwater listening to something happening above the waves.

She was shaken out of it by a cry of pain. As her vision snapped back into focus, she was horrified to see Adora collapsing to the ground, the sword slipping from her grasp. Shadow Weaver picked it up and examined it. “How curious,” she said. “I’ll have to look more into this later.”

As she reached for the incapacitated Adora, seemingly to grab her and teleport away, a strangled “No!” was torn from Catra. Shadow Weaver looked over to her, eyes narrowed.

“ _You,”_ she hissed. “Worthless animal. You could never do anything right. Not in the Guild of Shadows, not at Thaymor, and not in that village.”

“What?”

“You didn’t even have the decency to die there,” Shadow Weaver continued. “It would have been so much easier if that necromancer had just done his job.”

“That was… you?” Catra asked. As long as she had been with Shadow Weaver, there had been this constant tension in the air, like her mentor was always two seconds away from hurling a spell at her. Sometimes she _did_ hurl spells at her, every once in a while. But she had never actually tried to kill her. At least, not until now. It hit Catra all at once.

_Shadow Weaver tried to kill us all._

_Shadow Weaver was the one who made sure you didn’t talk to Adora for a decade._

_It’s Shadow Weaver’s fault._

_She did this to you. To her. To them._

_It was Adora who cared about you all this time. Never Shadow Weaver._

All of a sudden, she could feel the familiar rage stir once more as something inside Catra finally snapped. “Of course that was you,” she snarled. “For ten years, all I’ve tried to do was to show that I was worth something to you. For ten years, all I’ve tried to do was earn your praise, your respect.” 

But this… this was the final straw. 

“But that’s not happening. I was a fool for believing it ever would. You’re a twisted, evil woman. You tore me away from my best friend and made me believe she didn’t want me. I trusted you, but never again. I just got Adora back, and I will NOT let you rip us apart again.” She stepped forward, unsheathing her claws as she prepared to fight. She knew what she wanted now. This was the path she chose to walk.

“Bold of you to assume you have a chance against me,” Shadow Weaver drawled.

“Well, I’ll never know unless I try,” Catra said as some semblance of a plan formed in her mind. “Scorpia.”

“Y- Yeah?” Scorpia looked shell shocked by Shadow Weaver’s confession and Catra’s outburst.

“Get Entrapta and see if you can shake the others out of whatever magic Shadow Weaver’s got them under. Then get out of here. I’m going to hold her off.”

“Catra, you can’t be serious,” Scorpia replied, aghast. “You _can’t-”_

“Scorpia!” Catra shouted. Scorpia blinked, surprised. Catra softened her voice as she added, “I need you to trust me. Please.” Scorpia looked like she wanted to argue, but one look at Catra’s pleading gaze and she conceded. She nodded and ran off to grab Entrapta, who was finally noticing the wrecked state of the ballroom.

“You and me, Shadow Weaver! Let’s do this.” She had to buy Scorpia and Entrapta the time to wake the others up. She wasn't going to let anything happen to anyone there. She was going to make sure Adora made it out safe, even if it killed her. Catra stormed right at Shadow Weaver, but to her surprise the woman just stood there, waiting. Even more surprising was the jagged sword made of dark metal that had suddenly appeared in her hand. In a flash, Catra was onto her, raking her claws wildly at Shadow Weaver. The protective force that shimmered around her held up to some of the hits, but they couldn’t block one of Catra’s strikes from landing. Long gashes appeared in Shadow Weaver’s robes, but she stood there unperturbed. 

Despite the hit connecting, it was almost as if Catra had barely wounded her at all. “You dare lay your filthy hands on _me?_ Impudent whelp, I’ll grind you into dust,” Shadow Weaver spat. Her sword was suddenly a blur as it slashed toward Catra, biting into her side. Catra cried out in pain as the cold metal met flesh. “And here I thought you might even put up a fight. What’s the matter, can’t use the shadow arts I taught you?”

“I can kill you just fine without them!” Catra roared as she lunged forward again, claws tearing through the air. Shadow Weaver reciprocated with her own blade as it darted in and out of Catra’s defenses. They went back and forth in their dance of death: Catra, the picture of rage incarnate as she rained blows upon her foe, and Shadow Weaver, whose blade slithered like a snake as it cut into Catra again and again. The only sounds in the room were the sounds of claws and metal making contact with each other’s bodies and the pained shouts of Shadow Weaver’s pupil. As time passed, Catra became more and more weary. Shadow Weaver, on the other hand, was barely scratched. Try as she might, it was infuriatingly difficult to get past Shadow Weaver’s defenses. If her claws made it through the magic armor, they were often stopped by a flash of defensive energy that made it almost impossible to land any hits in. Shadow Weaver had no such trouble hurting Catra, however.

“Are you sure you don’t need them? Look at you. You’re already about to drop,” Shadow Weaver pointed out, twirling her sword nonchalantly. “It’s quite pathetic, honestly. A student of mine this shoddy in a fight. How did you ever survive the Guild of Shadows?”

“That’s cheating,” Catra panted, blood loss making it hard for her to piece together a coherent thought. “You’re… a sorceress… you’re not supposed to have a sword.”

“I don’t need to bother with spells to kill you,” Shadow Weaver said, arrogance dripping from her voice. “You’re beneath me. Why should I waste magic on the likes of you?” 

She chuckled wryly to herself. “My people were close-minded, egotistical fools who believed themselves superior to all others. They thought there was a _proper_ way to practice magic. My shadow sorcery _disgusted_ them. But for all their faults, they were masters when it came to the blade. A skill they passed on to all their kind, including me. I don’t even particularly mind using it in this instance. I can end your life with this weapon without having to cast a single spell on you.”

A wordless scream erupted from Catra as she charged the woman, determined to take her down despite her wounds. She pooled all her ki that she had left into one big strike as her hands glowed with energy. As she rushed Shadow Weaver, she curled her hand into a fist and punched Shadow Weaver straight in the gut, breaking through her magical defenses. Shadow Weaver gasped as the breath was knocked out of her. She stumbled and caught herself before falling, but something was wrong. She was frozen in place, unable to move any further.

That was just the lucky break Catra needed. She tore into Shadow Weaver, and though her magic was still active, she stood unable to react to Catra’s onslaught as the monk took advantage of her lowered guard to land more blows. Eventually, however, Shadow Weaver shook herself from her stunned state. “Enough!” she roared, knocking Catra back.

“What’s wrong, Shadow Weaver?” Catra laughed shakily as blood dribbled from her mouth. At this point she could barely stand, barely think, barely fight, but she wasn’t going down without laying on as much hurt as she could on her former mentor. She couldn’t afford to fall just yet. “This _impudent whelp_ too much for you?”

“I’ve let this go on for far too long,” Shadow Weaver snarled, her breathing becoming a bit ragged. She was wounded, but nowhere near as much as Catra. “You think you can betray me and live? After everything I’ve done for you? All the gifts I gave you?”

“All you did was take me away from my best friend,” Catra gritted out, wincing from the pain. “ _All you did_ was torture me every second of every day. Your shadow arts weren’t a gift, they were a curse.”

“Only because you lack the strength to use them,” Shadow Weaver said as she narrowed her eyes. “It’s time to wipe your deplorable race off the face of the world for good. Give your people my regards, tabaxi.” A writhing orb of green energy appeared in her hands as she sheathed her sword, aversion to magic apparently forgotten. 

Catra allowed herself some small satisfaction that at least she had ticked off Shadow Weaver to the point where she didn’t mind using magic on her. She hoped that she had bought enough time for everyone to escape. She felt a pang of regret, though, when she thought of Adora. They had literally made up not ten minutes ago, and here she stood, death staring her in the face. She only wished she could have had more time with her. Well, she wasn’t going to die without one last go at Shadow Weaver. She charged at her mentor, claws outstretched, as Shadow Weaver released the spell she was holding, sending it crackling towards her. It loomed in her vision as it came closer and closer.

She had almost made contact with it when a “Catra!” broke through the air. The spell puffed out right in front of Catra’s face, sending her stumbling in surprise. Looking over, she saw Adora with her hand outstretched in the air. Bow, Glimmer, and Swift Wind flanked her as the latter two were pouring healing magic into the girl. A wave of relief crashed over Catra. Everyone was ok. Then the relief turned to dread as she realized they were still here.

“What are you doing? Get out of here!” she cried.

“We’re not leaving you, Catra!” Adora yelled back.

“I have to do this on my own!”

“No you don’t,” Adora said as she ran towards her, limping slightly. She put her hand on Catra’s shoulder, and she could feel her healing magic flow through her. “I promised you I wouldn’t leave you ever again. That's a promise I intend to keep. We can do this, Catra. Together.”

Catra’s heart swelled as she hesitantly nodded. “Ok. Together.” She turned back to Shadow Weaver, who was roaring in anger as the other awakened occupants of the room swarmed her. It was Catra, Adora, Glimmer, Bow, Perfuma, the triton, the pirate, and a dwarf girl, presumably Princess Frosta, who had just pulled a greataxe almost twice her size from the frozen throne who now stood facing off against her. 

Scorpia and Entrapta were nowhere to be seen. Catra supposed that was for the best. Her other friends probably wouldn’t take too kindly to them sticking around. Still, though, Catra hoped she could find a chance to see them again and explain herself. But that would have to wait.

“I’ll kill you all!” Shadow Weaver raged as she prepared to cast another spell. A piercing scream began to ring out in their minds, but the triton girl was already counteracting it.

“Oh no, you don’t!” she yelled as she ripped the magic from the air.

All at once, the princesses began their attack on Shadow Weaver without a word needing to be spoken between them. Glimmer stood at a distance, blasting bolts of radiant power at Shadow Weaver. The triton backed her up with her own magic, crackling lightning striking at Shadow Weaver over and over. The pirate stood by the triton girl, but why he thought _insulting_ their enemy was a valid combat tactic, Catra didn’t know. Perfuma was running support, hanging back and healing anyone who got hit by Shadow Weaver’s attacks.

The other half of the group had gotten more up close and personal. It all felt surreal, like something from a story book. Frosta was swinging her massive axe in wide arcs that rippled with power as she screamed in blind rage. Bow had grabbed a long pike from the wall and stabbed at Shadow Weaver with it, his longbow left behind at Bright Moon. Adora had gotten her sword out again and was slashing with wild abandon at Catra’s torturer, a furious gleam in her eyes. Swift Wind was pretty enthusiastic about laying the smack down on the woman who had hurt Adora as well, turning into a giant scorpion as he snapped at her with his pincers. Catra herself was fighting right alongside Adora as they pushed back against Shadow Weaver. All she could think about in the moment was how glad she was that Adora didn’t abandon her, that after all these years she was here next to her again. 

The room had lit up with the sounds of magic and the fury of blades clashing against each other as the princesses of the Rebellion made their stand. Shadow Weaver had pulled out her sword to fend off the assault, but she was woefully outnumbered now. All her arrogance had evaporated, replaced by something that almost seemed like worry. She slung spells out at them, and though they connected sometimes it wasn’t nearly enough to counter their combined might. Every time she began the motions to cast what looked like particularly powerful magic, the triton managed to counterspell it before it could take effect. Slowly but surely, the odds were tipping out of Shadow Weaver's favor. She was at last surrounded by the princesses as Adora held her sword up against her neck.

“Incredible,” Shadow Weaver said. “How you’ve grown, Adora.”

“Stop talking,” Adora commanded, a harsh tone to her voice. “I don’t want to hear it.”

“Try casting again,” the triton said. “I dare you.” Catra decided that she liked this girl.

“It’s over, Shadow Weaver,” Catra declared. “You’ve lost.”

“You _dare_ attack my people? In my home?” Frosta snarled. 

Shadow Weaver let out a chuckle. “You can’t stop the Horde, little princess. We’re coming for all of Etheria.”

“You’ll never see the light of day again,” promised Frosta.

“You think that scares me?” Shadow Weaver mocked. “Fool. The darkness is _my_ domain.”

All of a sudden, the world went black without warning around them. Catra recognized it as a spell she had used once before in Thaymor. The inky darkness surrounded them all entirely, making it impossible for anyone to see. Well, not apparently not everyone. There was some shuffling, and then a cry from both Glimmer and Bow. “Stop!” she heard Adora yell, but it was too late. There was the chanting of a spell, then their vision returned as the interfering magic dissipated. 

As they all spun around, wildly confused, it became clear that something was wrong. There were less people in the room than before. Shadow Weaver was nowhere to be found. And to their horror, neither were Glimmer and Bow.

“She took them,” Adora whispered, shocked, as the room erupted with chatter. “I- I couldn’t stop them, I couldn’t-”

“Hey,” Catra interjected quietly before Adora could get herself worked up any more. “We’ll get them back. We’ll make her pay. For everything. Alright?”

Adora’s worried look didn’t fade away completely, but she nodded. “What about those two Horde soldiers? Are they still here?”

“They weren’t a part of this,” Catra tried to defend her friends.

“Can you be completely sure of that?” Adora asked.

“I know them, Adora. They wouldn’t,” Catra wasn’t going to back down.

“They _did_ wake us up,” Perfuma pointed out. “Who knows how long we would have been out for without their help?” Adora frowned, looking not entirely convinced, but she dropped the subject.

“Aasimar,” Frosta barked.

“Her name is Adora,” Catra corrected. “And she just helped save your kingdom.”

“Adora,” Frosta said, giving a sharp glare at Catra. “Who exactly was that woman?”

“Her name is Shadow Weaver. She’s the head of the Guild of Shadows, an organization with close ties to the Horde,” Adora explained.

Frosta let off a long string of what Catra assumed were curses in her native tongue. She couldn’t understand a word of it, but it sure sounded like this girl had a pretty foul mouth. “They come into _my_ kingdom, assault _my_ guests, and they dare to kidnap two of them as well?” the girl hissed. She looked at Adora. “As much as I hate to admit it, aasim- Adora, it looks like you were right. The Horde won’t leave us alone. We can’t hide here and do nothing if they’re going to take the fight right to our doorstep.” 

A look of resolve cemented itself on her face, mixing with the anger that was already there. “We’re going to show them why you don’t mess with the Kingdom of the Snows. We’re going to show them the meaning of _pain.”_ She outstretched an arm to Adora. “We stand with the Princess Alliance. My axe is yours.”

Adora took her hand and shook it firmly. “It’s good to have you. I only wish it had been under better circumstances. I’m sorry for already having something to ask of you, but there’s two of our friends that need rescuing.”

Frosta nodded. “I thought as much,” she responded. “ Very well. I will fight alongside you to save them.”

“Will you all come with me too?” Adora asked, looking around the room.

“Of course, lass!” the pirate cried. “Our captured crewmates will not stay that way for long if we have anything to say about it. I’ve been wanting to pull off a daring rescue mission for a while now. This will be a grand adventure!”

“Yeah, what he said,” the triton agreed. “You three did us a real solid with the Sea Gate. There’s no way I’m letting them rot in some cell.”

“We won’t leave them behind,” Perfuma added. “You can count on us to help.”

“Yeah,” Swift Wind called out. “I’m with you till the end of the line, Adora.”

Adora beamed. “Thank you. All of you.” She turned to Catra. “What do you think?”

Catra pretended to think about it. “A dangerous rescue mission where we’ll have to sneak into my old guild full of assassins and face off against my old mentor, an expert in shadow magic? Small chance of success?” A smirk appeared on her face. “Of course I’m coming. I’m gonna get some payback for tonight. Plus everything else.”

Adora’s smile became even wider. “Thank you, Catra. For staying." Her expression became more somber. "It, uh, must have been hard. Facing her, I mean.”

“Yeah, well…” Catra said, rubbing her neck. “I’ve had worse fights.”

“And who is this again?” Frosta asked.

“Oh yeah,” Adora said. “I think some official introductions are in order.”

\-------------------------

Adora stood in the tower of Bright Moon, staring at the Moonstone. It was her favorite place to be by herself and think. And she had a lot to think about. They would go rescue Bow and Glimmer soon, and Adora couldn’t sleep. The look on King Micah’s head when they told him the fate that had befallen his daughter was still burned into Adora’s memory. 

They had had to argue with him for a while to convince him not to go rescue her then and there. The members of the Princess Alliance, who all had traveled there with her, had backed her up. His anguish was understandable, and as much as Adora privately wanted to go rushing in with him at that very moment, they were all reeling from the fight. They needed a chance to catch their breath, to regroup. Then they could strike at the Guild of Shadows and take back their friends. Everyone was all on board. This would be their first mission as a group. It would be Adora’s first mission with Catra, too.

_Oh, Catra._

She didn’t think she could ever forgive herself for trusting Shadow Weaver with the letters. _So Adora, you know that lady you can’t stand and you can trust as far as you can throw? Let’s depend on her to get messages to your best friend, who you know she hates and would do anything to hurt. Real genius right there,_ Adora thought sarcastically. It had broken her heart, year after year of nothing from Catra. But now she knew why. Better yet, Catra was _here_ in Bright Moon, and-

“Hey, Adora.”

_Here_ here too, apparently. Catra walked up next to her and they both leaned on the balcony in silence, gazing at the Moonstone. Its soft light was a soothing sight, glowing under the night sky. After a while, Catra spoke up.

“We’ll get them back. Bow and Glimmer.”

Adora remembered all too well her powerlessness to stop Shadow Weaver. Grayskull’s gift had paid off: the magical darkness no longer had any effect on her vision. However, this time it only allowed her to watch as Shadow Weaver grabbed her friends and teleported away, too quick for her to react in time. Even if she had, though, her magic was depleted. She couldn’t have cast anything to stop her even if she had wanted to. And now her friends were gone.

“Do you really think we can?” Adora asked. “You’re the expert.”

Catra pondered the question. “It’s not gonna be easy. The place is crawling with Guild of Shadows members. Plus there’s Shadow Weaver to deal with. But we’ll get them back. I’m not leaving your friends behind.” Adora gave her a look, and Catra sighed. “I’m not leaving _our_ friends behind.”

“Thanks, Catra.”

Catra was silent for a time, then began to talk again. “So that’s this place’s runestone, huh.”

“Yeah.”

“Shadow Weaver’s got one in her temple. Gave me the creeps. But this thing, it’s actually… kinda nice. Peaceful. I see why you hang out here so often.”

“What, are you stalking me or something?”

“Just being observant.”

“ _Right.”_ Adora drew out the word as she teased her.

Catra snorted, then got quiet again. When she spoke once more, her voice was softer. “Shadow Weaver said something to me when we were fighting. It was something along the lines of how she was about to wipe my ‘deplorable race’ off the face of the world.” She paused for a moment. “Do you think…”

“That you’re the last of your kind? I’m not sure, Catra. You’re the only tabaxi I’ve ever met. But if there’s any left out there, then you’ll bet we’ll find them. Together.”

A small smile appeared on Catra’s face. “Together. I’d like that.”

“Are you ok though? Really?” Adora asked, concerned. “Fighting Shadow Weaver must have been awful.”

“Well, I may or may not have been getting my butt handed to me before you helped me out. So thanks for the assist there.” Adora chuckled as Catra continued. “Yeah, I can’t really go back now, can I? Not that I’d want to; I’m done with that place.” 

“Done with that mission Shadow Weaver talked about, too?” Adora asked.

A dark look flickered across Catra’s face. “Done with that, too. I made my choice. But I guess I should almost be thankful. Running into you was... the best thing that could have happened to me.”

“Aw, you mean it?” Adora smiled.

“Shut up, princess,” Catra joked, and Adora could have sworn she was blushing. Well, not like she wasn't having the same issue. “Don’t let it go to your head.”

“Come on, admit it, you liiiike me,” Adora teased.

Catra gave her a good-natured shove as Adora laughed. “Alright, maybe just a little.” The conversation faded into silence once more.

“It’s different, huh?” Adora asked after some time. “This place. It’s so much brighter than where we grew up. So much brighter than the Fright Zone, too.”

“Yeah,” Catra agreed. “It’s gonna take some getting used to, though. It’s like, the polar opposite of the Guild of Shadows.”

"What was it like in the Guild?" Adora was almost afraid to know the answer to that question.

Catra's voice got quieter, more serious. “Living there was… horrible. I’ll spare you the details, but Shadow Weaver was bad. Really bad. I felt lucky to get out of each day alive. Scorpia and Entrapta were the only two I could really call my friends. But a lot of days they weren’t enough. Wasn’t their fault, though, it was just a rough place to be. Especially when the head of it all was… well, you’ve seen her. Try having to deal with _that_ every day for ten years.”

“I’m sorry,” Adora said. It wasn’t enough. A thousand _I’m sorries_ wouldn’t be enough. How could she have let this happen? How could she have let her best friend suffer like this?

“Look, it’s… it’s not your fault, alright?” Catra said. “I understand that now.”

“I should have done more _,_ Catra,” Adora pressed on. “I should never have let them take you away from me-”

“Adora, stop,” Catra interrupted, her voice firm. “You were a little kid. What were you going to do?”

“I should have tried harder.”

“You did what you could. I blamed you for way too long. But I was wrong. It’s not on you.”

Adora wasn’t sure she was right. 

“It’s not. On. You,” Catra repeated as she saw the uncertain look on Adora’s face, poking her in the chest with each punctuated word. “You aren’t responsible for carrying all the bad things that happen to people, ok? So stop blaming yourself.”

“Ok,” Adora sighed after a beat of hesitation, understanding Catra wasn’t going to let this go until she conceded. She wasn’t sure she believed it, but Catra’s words did make her feel a bit better. “And Catra?”

“Yeah?”

“If you ever want to talk about... what she did. I’m here.”

“Uh, thanks, I guess.” Catra suddenly looked bashful. “So I, uh… It’s been a while since we’ve been in each other’s lives. I’ve been mad at you for ten years over something I never should have faulted you for. But I know the truth now. And I want to try to go back to, um, what we had before. So… friends?”

“Friends,” Adora agreed in a heartbeat as she smiled wide. “I missed you, Catra.”

“... Missed you too, Adora.”

\-------------------------

Shadow Weaver arrived back in her sanctum with a flash, the princess of Bright Moon and her friend in tow. She cursed to herself as she remembered the disastrous battle that had just taken place. Adora rejecting her, rejecting all her teachings. Catra defying her, then daring to strike her over and over. She would _suffer_ for that. And those two bumbling idiots from Hordak’s army that had done _nothing_ but hinder her efforts. “I’m going to kill those two when they get back,” she hissed quietly.

Somehow Adora had seen through the magical darkness she had conjured, which was something that intrigued her. She had even ripped the spell that Shadow Weaver had cast to kill her rebellious former pupil from the air, counteracting it. Adora had come a long way since her time in the Horde. What exactly was it that had jump-started her powers? She bet it was the sword that she carried, which resembled an ancient relic, a weapon not seen in a thousand years. _Fascinating._ Shadow Weaver would have Adora and her power, whether she came willingly or not.

First thing first, though, her new _guests_ had to be dealt with. With a word from Shadow Weaver, a few Guild members entered her sanctum and took the two rebels from her. “Take them to the dungeons. Use the dimensional shackles so they cannot escape,” she ordered. They nodded and left. She made her way to her other chamber, where her current experiment awaited. It was chained up in the corner as usual, staring up at her with glowing, furious eyes. It tried to snarl, but its jaws were restrained by heavy metal chains. “Try all you like, twisted creature,” Shadow Weaver said. “You’ll never get out of this place. I’ll unlock your secrets yet.” 

Glancing around, Shadow Weaver’s attention was drawn to two glowing eyes in the dark. “I see you, little imp,” she said to Hordak’s familiar. “I have good news for your master. Tell him I have a gift for him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yayyyy they've finally made up. This is one of the more significant chapters, so I hope I managed to pull everything off well. As always, feedback is greatly appreciated. Next time: Rescue mission! Plus a certain other animal companion makes their debut!
> 
> I don't know about you, but I kind of get some Stand By Me by Ben E. King vibes from that Moonstone scene. Should I try to make a playlist for this story? I wonder what songs would go well with it.
> 
> SPELL LIST  
> "Shadow Weaver created a twisting mass of colors that weaved through the air." Shadow Weaver used Hypnotic Pattern (Extended Spell)  
> "...Adora shouted, appearing with a flash in front of her." Adora used Misty Step  
> "The protective force that shimmered around her held up to some of the hits..." Shadow Weaver used Mage Armor  
> "If her claws made it through the magic armor, they were often stopped by a flash of defensive energy..." Shadow Weaver used Shield multiple times  
> "A writhing orb of green energy appeared in her hands..." Shadow Weaver used Distinegrate  
> "The spell puffed out right in front of Catra’s face, sending her stumbling in surprise." Adora used Counterspell  
> "Bow, Glimmer, and Swift Wind flanked her as the latter two were pouring healing magic into the girl." Glimmer + Swift Wind used Cure Wounds  
> "A piercing scream began to ring out in their minds..." Shadow Weaver used Synaptic Static  
> "...she yelled as she ripped the magic from the air." Mermista used Counterspell  
> "...blasting bolts of radiant power at Shadow Weaver." Glimmer used Sacred Flame multiple times  
> "...crackling lightning striking at Shadow Weaver over and over." Mermista used Witch Bolt  
> "...but why he thought insulting their enemy was a valid combat tactic..." Sea Hawk used Vicious Mockery multiple times  
> "Perfuma was running support, hanging back and healing anyone who got hit by Shadow Weaver’s attacks." Perfuma used Cure Wounds multiple times  
> "...the triton managed to counterspell it before it could take effect." Mermista used Counterspell multiple times  
> "All of a sudden, the world went black without warning around them." Shadow Weaver used Darkness  
> "There was the chanting of a spell..." Shadow Weaver used Teleport  
> "The members of the Princess Alliance, who all had traveled there with her..." KotS castle staff used Teleportation Circle (offscreen)


	13. The Temple

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Princess Alliance goes on a rescue mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's back! Sorry for the almost two week gap between chapters, school has been... a lot. But that's not going to stop me from continuing to write. It just might take longer to finish chapters now. Although hopefully not as long as TWO WEEKS. Jeez.

The two travelers rode in silence on the empty path. They had been going on like that for some time, ever since they had fled the Princess Prom. Something that one traveler made sure the other didn’t forget.

“How could you leave her like that, Entrapta? We’re her friends. We should have stayed, should have helped,” the larger traveler cried.

“If we had helped them, we would have been committing treason, Scorpia. And besides, you said the woman who defected pulled a sword on you? It sounds like we wouldn’t have had much of a welcome if we had tried to help. We had no choice but to leave.”

“But Catra-”

“-Is capable of making her own decisions. She made it. She, for whatever reason, has decided that she now sides with the Princess Alliance. She fought _Shadow Weaver,_ Scorpia. She’s not coming back.”

Scorpia shuddered. “Do you think… do you think that she really tried to get Catra killed?”

“Based on their prior interactions with each other-” the artificer thought to herself. “- it’s not outside the realm of possibility.”

“But why would she do that? What kind of person tries to kill their own student?” Scorpia asked. Then, quieter, she added, “What kind of people does that make the Horde, if they side with a woman like her?”

“You can’t blame Hordak for something someone else did,” Entrapta said. “We’ve always known Shadow Weaver was… a bit extreme. Judging the entire Horde off of the actions of one person won’t give you an accurate picture of who they are.

“But Lord Hordak-”

“Hordak knows what he’s doing, Scorpia,” Entrapta defended him. “He’s got big things planned for Etheria.”

“And he’s told you what those plans are?”

Entrapta deflated. “Well, no…” She sighed. “I wish he would tell me what his goal is. I want to _help_ him, but he makes it hard sometimes.”

“So why do you have so much faith in him?”

“Because…” Entrapta struggled to find the right words. “He took me in when he found me in that town. Everybody always made fun of me for being ‘weird’ and making things that most people thought were ‘against the natural order’. I built Emily there, you know. You should have seen her then, she was more or less a walking scrap heap. But then the Horde came, and I met Hordak. And he didn’t make fun of me like everyone else. He said he was… _impressed_ with what I had made. No one had ever said that to me before. So when he asked me to join him, of course I said yes. Because I had finally found someone who understood me.”

Scorpia was silent as Entrapta finished. “He’s done so much for me. Trusting him is the least I can do.”

After a while, Scorpia spoke up again. “So what are we gonna do now? Shadow Weaver’s not going to be happy with us when we get back.”

“Assuming she _does_ make it back,” Entrapta pointed out.

“It’s _Shadow Weaver,_ Entrapta. She made it out alive, no doubt about it.”

“... And you’re worried that Catra didn’t?”

Scorpia slumped on her horse. “Of _course_ I’m worried she didn’t. We left her by herself to face one of the strongest members of the Horde.”

“First off, she wasn’t by herself. There were plenty of people we woke up who immediately rushed to help her. And I meant what I said before. Catra’s good at not dying. She’s alive.”

“I really hope so,” Scorpia sighed. “But still, Shadow Weaver’s going to be furious.”

“We’ll be fine!” Entrapa brushed off her concerns. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

“... I feel like you’re gonna regret saying that.”

\-------------------------

Adora slowly came to consciousness in her darkened room. Her eyes cracked open as she shifted awake, and she noticed a strange weight by her feet. It was as if something was laying on top of the sheets at the foot of her bed. Trying to move her feet, whatever was there shifted and mumbled. A memory stirred in Adora’s mind: the nights in the orphanage when Adora spent her nights laying in bed with a certain other girl sleeping by her feet.

“Catra?”

No response.

“Catra, is that you?”

Still nothing.

Carefully, Adora got out of bed and loomed over the form. Sure enough, there Catra was sleeping curled up in a ball. There was a look of contentment on her face, and Adora realized it was the most relaxed she had ever seen the other girl. That is, until her eyes opened and immediately widened. “What the-” Catra scrambled back, surprised, and managed to fall off the bed with un-catlike grace. “You scared the living daylights out of me, Adora!”

“Sorry! Sorry! I didn’t mean to!” Adora apologized furiously.

“What were you even doing two inches from my face?” Catra asked as she got back to her feet.

Adora couldn’t stop the heat from suddenly blossoming across her face. “I, uh, well… what were _you_ doing sleeping in my bed?”

“You’re deflecting.”

“So are you,” Adora pointed out.

Catra sighed in frustration. “Look… I couldn’t sleep very well, ok? Shadow Weaver was on my mind all night. So…”

“You crawled into my bed?” Adora finished for her.

“Yeah. What, should I not?” Catra tried to voice the question in a flippant way, but Adora sensed something of an anxious undertone. The answer to the question seemed to matter more to her than she wanted to let on.

“No, no. It’s fine. I’m, um, actually glad you’re here,” Adora reassured her. “I don’t really like sleeping alone either.”

“Oh... Ok.” Catra paused. “Uh, thanks then. For being cool with it.” She looked almost relieved that Adora hadn’t been weirded out by it.

Adora smiled. “Of course, Catra.”

“But seriously, though, why were you staring at me in my sleep?”

“Oh. Right. That.” Adora struggled to figure out what to say. “I guess you looked… peaceful? It was the first time I had seen you that calm in a long time. You look pretty when you’re relaxed.”

The early morning sunlight was beginning to filter into the room, giving Adora a perfect view of the flustered look on Catra’s face as the rays illuminated her form. Adora’s blush came back full force when she realized what she had said. “I mean, pretty _nice!_ Pretty nice. It’s, um, good seeing you that way.” She chuckled nervously. _Why must you betray me this way, brain?_ They had just become friends again a short while ago. There was no place for… that kind of thinking.

They were interrupted by a bang on the door. “Hey, Adora! This is your room, right? King Micah says get your stuff together. It’s almost time.”

“Alright!” Adora called back. She turned to Catra. “Guess it’s time, huh?”

“Looks that way.”

“You ready?”

Catra hesitated for a moment. “I’ll be fine. You?”

Adora sighed. “I really hope so.”

Catra put a hand on her shoulder, a gesture that went a long way to make Adora feel better. “Hey. We can do this. We’re gonna get them back.”

Adora nodded. “Yeah. Ok, let’s do this.”

The voice from the other side of the door returned. “Oh yeah, he had me bring something here for you, too. I’m leaving it right here.” 

Curious, Adora opened the door to see Frosta in her doorway. She peered inside the room and, naturally, saw Catra behind her. Both of them, having just woken up, weren’t exactly the most presentable at the moment. And so, of course, conclusions were jumped to. 

“Well, uh…” Frosta began with a smirk appearing on her face. “That’s unexpected. Didn’t think you had it in you, Adora. Took you for one of those goody-two-shoes aasimar.”

It took a second for it to click in Adora and Catra’s heads, and they stumbled over themselves trying to correct her.

“This isn’t-”

“We’re not-”

“She just-”

Frosta waved off their words, chuckling to herself. “Sure, sure. Whatever you say. Just get downstairs soon.” Though it seemed she couldn’t resist throwing in one last jest. “And try not to get too… _distracted._ ” She turned and walked away, sides shaking with what suspiciously looked like laughter.

Adora turned to Catra, who was about the exact same shade of red as her. They both struggled for a second to string together a coherent sentence, but finally Adora managed to spit out, “Let’s, uh, check out that package, shall we?”

“Right, yeah,” Catra responded.

Just like Frosta had said, by Adora’s door sat a large chest. She went to lift it and found it was easier said than done. The chest was _heavy_. At last, though, she managed to bring it into her room. She glanced sharply back at Catra, who seemed to be looking at anything but her. “You couldn’t have helped?”

“Lifting stuff isn’t exactly my forte, princess,” Catra said offhandedly, her swagger returned. “And besides, you looked like you had it covered. Now come on, I want to see what’s inside.”

Adora lifted the top of the chest open as Catra peered over her shoulder. When they saw the contents of the chest, their eyes widened. Catra whistled appreciatively at the sight before them. Inside the chest was a beautifully crafted set of armor made of interlocking metal plates. Taking it out, Adora noticed intricate star carvings etched into the pauldrons and the chestplate. The gold designs and trim along with the silvery-white color of the metal gave off a certain heroic aura, like the one who wore this armor was destined for greatness.

“Woah,” Catra said. “That’s pretty cool.” 

Adora nodded her head in agreement. “Yeah. I should probably put this on, then.”

“You, uh, need any help?”

Adora glanced at her. “Do you even know _how_ to help a person don armor?”

“Pfft, how hard could it be?” Catra squatted down and looked over the mess of metal and leather that was supposed to go on Adora, poking aimlessly at the pieces. “So it looks like first you gotta… uhh… maybe this one here…”

Adora snickered. “Just admit you have no idea what you’re doing.”

“Why in the Gates is this so difficult?” Catra fumed, but there was no real anger to it. “How are these pieces even supposed to fit together?”

Adora laughed. “Look, it’s sweet of you to want to help, but I got this.”

“Ok, I’ll get out of your hair. There’s some stuff I need to grab from my room anyway. See you downstairs.” And with that, Catra slipped out of her room. 

There was a strange emptiness in the room with her absence, but Adora didn’t dwell on that. She put on the suit of armor, which took a few minutes, and to her surprise it wasn’t nearly as heavy or clunky as it had first appeared. Numerous straps and buckles distributed the weight over her entire body, and her range of movement was barely restricted. As she put on the final pieces, she decided she liked this new suit quite a bit. It even had spaces for her wings to come out, which was convenient.

Making her way down to the war room, Adora was met by the members of the Princess Alliance, along with George, Lance, Netossa, and Spinnerella. Seeing her new armor, everyone appeared rather impressed.

“Woah,” Mermista said. “New look.”

“How fantastic,” Sea Hawk added. “Armor fit for a legend.”

“Adora, that’s so cool!” Swift Wind cried, sitting up from the horse-sized chair King Micah begrudgingly had made for him. “How did you get that?”

“I had it made for her,” King Micah explained. “It’s imbued with magic as well. It helps when you have a mage hurling fireballs at you. It was past time you got an upgrade from chain mail.”

“So _that’s_ what was in that chest you had me lug up all those flights of stairs,” Frosta said after shooting Adora a knowing smirk. Adora pretended not to see it. “I mean, not that _I’d_ ever need to wear something like that, but that’s some fine craftsmanship right there.”

“I was going to have other people do it,” King Micah said. “You didn’t have to volunteer.”

“How else was I going to show off my awesome feats of strength?” Frosta asked, looking rather smug with herself. “I’m clearly the muscle of this operation. So I gotta do muscle stuff.”

Scanning the room for Catra, Adora found her in the corner of the room, fiddling with something on her wrists. Adora realized they were some kind of bracers made from thin golden wires that wrapped around Catra’s forearms. She glanced up, noticing Adora staring, and said, “Found these by my room. Looks like you’re not the only one with some upgrades.”

“I did say I’d help out on the magic item front,” King Micah spoke up. “I had a gift for each of the four of you once you got back from the Prom, but…” He looked down, his expression equal parts remorseful and vengeful. “That didn’t work out. But you can make use of yours now, at least.”

“Well, I was going to throw some stuff of theirs that they normally use in my bag for when we break them out. You know, so they can defend themselves,” Catra said as she began to do just that. Adora hadn’t noticed Glimmer’s staff and Bow’s quiver beside her. “You want me to put their gifts in, too?”

King Micah shook his head. “That’s smart of you, but- NO! STOP!” His eyes went wide as he reached out a hand in Catra’s direction.

Everyone froze at the king’s outburst. Catra was especially startled, her fur puffed up as she held Bow’s quiver not two inches from the mouth of the bag. “What was that for?” she said, a bit of a shrill tone to her voice.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten anyone. But whatever you do, _don’t put that in the bag of holding,”_ King Micah said, his voice strained. “You’re going to have to carry it.”

“What? Why?” Catra asked.

“Let’s just say putting an item with an extradimensional space inside another similar item… doesn’t end well. For anyone nearby,” King Micah explained.

“Alright, fine.” Catra slung the quiver over her back, looking annoyed as her fur settled back down. “Lead with that next time,” she muttered.

“So, uh, first order of business,” Adora began. “How do we get into the Guild of Shadows temple?”

“Oh that’s not going to be a problem,” King Micah said. “I can get you there, since I’m coming with you.”

The room burst into chatter, mainly from the King’s own advisors.

“King Micah, you can’t!”

“What if something happened to you?”

“My daughter has been kidnapped,” King Micah stated firmly. “I can’t just stand by and wait for her to be rescued. This is something I have to do with the Rebellion. And besides, I can use the teleportation circle to get us there.”

“Wait, what?” Adora asked. “I thought you could only use that for locations you’ve been to.”

“And I’ve been to the Guild of Shadows temple. I used to be a student there,” King Micah replied.

The room went silent. Finally, Catra spoke up. “You… were a part of the Guild?”

“No, I was never a member. The temple wasn’t always the headquarters of the Guild of Shadows, you know. Once, it was a school. A university of magic known as Mystacor. I went there just around the time the Horde first showed up.”

“So what happened?” Catra asked.

King Micah’s expression darkened. “A teacher betrayed us. She wanted to turn to forbidden magic to ‘protect’ us from the Horde. But when the heads of Mystacor refused, she... let's just say staying at Mystacor was no longer an option for us. We barely got out alive.”

“ _Ooh, backstory,”_ Sea Hawk whispered, only to be elbowed seconds later by Mermista.

Catra blinked in surprise, looking like she had been unaware of her former home’s past. “Huh.”

“I’m going to need you four to hold down the fort until we’re back,” King Micah said, looking at his advisors. None of them looked enthusiastic about the prospect of their King going off on the mission.

“King Micah, you can’t possibly expect us to be fine with you leaving-” George began, but King Micah cut him off.

“What I _expect_ you to do is to follow your King’s wishes,” he said in an authoritative tone. “I am not some frail child in need of protecting. I am the King of Brightmoon, and I will not rest for a moment longer while my daughter sits in chains in the hands of the enemy. I am going with them, and that is final. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, my King,” George begrudgingly said. Lance, Netossa, and Spinnerella seemed to resign themselves as well.

King Micah looked them all in the eye as he continued speaking. “Don’t think I do not hear your concerns,” he said, softer this time. “I understand perfectly well. But I can take care of myself. And my daughter needs my help. I have to do this. What I need _you_ to do, however, is to make sure no harm comes to Brightmoon while I am gone. I would trust no one else with this.”

“You know we won’t let you down,” Netossa said seriously.

“No harm will come to Brightmoon,” Spinnerella promised.

“Just be careful, please,” Lance said.

“ _All_ of you,” George added, glancing around the rescue force. “It would be a terrible loss for the Rebellion to be without any one of you.”

“Not to worry, friend!” Sea Hawk cried. “We’ll bring everyone back safe and sound. You have our word.”

“Yeah! Best Friend Squad!” Swift Wind yelled.

“Is that really our team name? You can’t be serious,” Mermista moaned.

 _“Join the club, Fins,”_ Catra muttered.

“I think it’s quite nice,” Perfuma defended. “Yay! Best Friend Squad!”

“We can do this,” Adora vowed. “All of us.”

King Micah chuckled. “Best Friend Squad indeed. So as for the plan…” He turned to Catra. “I’m afraid my knowledge of the building’s layout is likely outdated, so we’re going to be counting on you for most of the information.”

Catra paused, thinking, before speaking up. “Well, first off, I’ve never seen any room with a teleportation circle.”

“Wait,” Adora butted in. “What if she destroyed it so that people can’t go through it anymore? Like in Salineas?”

King Micah shook his head. “It takes lots of power to mess with a teleportation circle once it’s permanently affixed to a point. Salinas was… an extreme case. No, more likely she’s sealed it off in a room.”

“There is a room like that,” Catra thought out loud. “On the ground level. We’re not supposed to go near it. It’s been sealed up with stone.”

“An easy fix,” King Micah declared. “That won’t stop us.”

“Ok, then,” Catra continued. “From there, then the dungeon is only a short ways away. We might face some resistance, though. There’s no concrete number of members present at any given time, but there’s always enough to put up a fight.”

“Would you say stealth is the go-to option?” King Micah questioned.

“I mean, the place isn’t the most well lit, so that kinda works for us, but there’s not _that_ many places to hide.”

“Would your… abilities… be an option, then?” Adora asked tentatively. She knew the last time they had sprung that on her on the spot, it had not gone well.

Catra looked a bit conflicted, then answered, “I think I could. I, uh, I would probably need your help again.” She looked a bit sheepish at the confession.

“Yes! I mean, uh, that’s no problem,” Adora answered quickly. “Always here to help.”

“And what are we talking about exactly?” Mermista asked.

“Yeah, I’m kind of confused,” Perfuma added.

“I’ve got stealth magic,” Catra explained. “It’s, um… a bit of a sore topic.”

“So with your stealth magic, you could help us sneak through the temple?” King Micah asked.

“Yeah, I can use it to keep us from getting caught. It’s not infallible, though. We could still be spotted. And if we get into combat, Guild of Shadows members are no joke. We’re assassins. Ambushers. We get in fast, hit hard, and get out before you even realize we were there.”

King Micah nodded. “Noted.”

“We’ll have to make it to the dungeons, preferably without being noticed and having to fight our way out of a temple’s worth of enemies. When we do that, then we can find Bow and Glimmer and get them out. If we’re lucky, Shadow Weaver will be too busy holed up in her sanctum that she doesn’t notice us.”

“But if she does, we’ll just beat her up like we did last time,” Frosta said, punching her fist into her hand.

“I agree with the dwarf,” Sea Hawk said. “We’ve fought her off once, we can do it again, right?”

King Micah shook his head. “From what you’ve told me of the fight, her primary objective was to retrieve Adora. With you all in her home, trying to break out her prisoners, you might find it harder to win than last time. She will tear you apart. No, if we run into her, then that fight falls to me.”

“Ok,” Adora said. “So we teleport in, unseal the room, make it to the dungeon preferably unseen, get Bow and Glimmer out, and make it back to the teleportation room.”

“Don’t forget that to teleport out will take a minute,” King Micah added. “It would be much easier to complete the spell if we didn’t have… an audience.”

Adora nodded. “So if we get spotted, then this gets a little harder. If Shadow Weaver finds us… it gets a lot harder.”

“Wait,” Mermista said. “Won’t someone sound the alarm if they see a room that was sealed off obviously no longer sealed?”

“I can seal it back up and no one will even know we’re there,” King Micah said. “Then when we get back I can just unseal it.”

Mermista nodded. “Huh. Convenient.”

“Now, I believe it’s time.” He led them to the teleportation circle room, where he began to draw the glyphs that would take them into the heart of their enemy’s lair. During the process, Adora found herself pulled aside by George and Lance.

“Good luck,” George said. “Please ensure that Princess Glimmer makes it out safe. And…”

“Please make sure our son comes home, too.” Lance finished for him. “He’s a brave kid. His other siblings, they’re scholars and explorers. All off in different corners of the world, pursuing knowledge and lost wonders. But Bow… he always wanted to _fight._ To be a _hero._ ”

“We just… We don’t want him to be a martyr for a cause,” George added. “We just want our boy.” Adora could see the worry prevalent in the two fathers’ eyes as they spoke.

Adora nodded. “I’ll bring him back. I swear it to you.”

“That’s all we ask. Thank you, Adora.”

“Take care of yourselves. Keep the King safe.”

Adora stepped back into the circle as the spell was nearing completion. She glanced at Catra, and they made eye contact. She gave her a reassuring smile, and was pleased that Catra gave her a small one in return.

“So King Micah! This’ll be our first mission together! Pretty cool, right?” Swift Wind asked.

King Micah’s reply was cut off by the activation of the spell. There was a flash of light, and they all found themselves in a dark room. In a matter of seconds, however, it was lit up with light from King Micah’s ornate staff. With it, they could see the place where a large door once was, now filled with rocks. It also gave Adora a perfect view of Catra's queasy face as she looked like she was trying not to barf. _Poor Catra._ Teleportation magic didn't seem to agree with her at all. As King Micah cast a spell, slits opened up in the wall in the shape of a door.

“I got this,” Swift Wind whispered as he shifted into a spider. King Micah cracked the new door open ever so slightly for him to peek out of. A few seconds passed, then he skittered back in. “All clear,” he announced.

They all slunk out of the room. Looking around, it appeared that Swift Wind had been correct. There were no other souls around. They were met with long stone passageways with torches spaced far apart, giving the halls a haunting look. The very walls gave off an air of hostility, like they would abruptly trap you in place and crush the life out of you.

“This is where you grew up?” Adora asked. This had been everything she had feared but also so much worse.

Catra just nodded without speaking a word, likely taking in all the memories of this place.

“Woah,” Mermista said. “That’s rough.”

“Indeed,” Sea Hawk agreed. “This place gives me the creeps, and I just got here.”

“The aura is so dark in this temple,” Perfuma said woefully. “What a horrible place to live in. What a horrible place to be imprisoned in.”

“It wasn’t always like this,” King Micah said, voice full of bitterness as he sealed up the entrance behind them. “It used to be bright and full of life.”

“But now a bunch of bad guys are in it,” Frosta said gruffly. “So let’s get who we came for and get out of this place already.”

“Stealth time?” Adora asked.

Catra nodded. “Yeah, stealth time.”

Adora clutched her hand as she weaved magic through the air that would mask their travels. “This way,” Catra said as they slunk through the passageways, taking extra care to avoid any unwanted attention. Thankfully, they did a pretty good job at remaining unseen with Catra’s magic aiding them. Even the armor Adora wore wasn’t loud enough to clash with the spell, which she was grateful for. There had been one or two close calls with almost running headfirst into a guild member, but Catra’s quick reaction times and stealth magic saved them again and again.

At last, they reached the entrance to the dungeon. To their dismay, two guild members, a tiefling and a half elf, stood guard there. As they hid, they could hear snippets of conversation.

“Can’t believe we’re stuck here on guard duty.”

“I know, right? But Shadow Weaver ordered it, so here we are.”

“I mean, it’s just one prisoner! What’s one prisoner going to do?”

“Something important enough that we got stationed here, apparently.”

“I thought she brought back two. What happened to the other one?”

“Who knows? Maybe Shadow Weaver’s playing with her like she said she would.”

They all froze at the mention of just one prisoner. “Someone’s not here!” Adora whisper-cried. “What are we going to do?”

“I can go see who it is,” Swift Wind offered. At Adora’s nod of affirmation, he climbed up the walls to go check. He slipped past the guards and through the cracks of the cell. After a few seconds, he came back to them. “Bow’s in there. He’s alive and only, like, a little banged up.”

King Micah sucked in a breath, and Adora turned to him. “We’ll find her, Your Majesty.” He nodded in gratitude, albeit still somewhat distressed.

“Well, this complicates things,” Catra said. “First things first, though- we need to get Arrow boy out.”

“Let’s beat up the guards,” Frosta offered.

“The whole point is to _avoid_ attention,” Mermista rebuffed. “We need a distraction.”

“A distraction, you say?” Sea Hawk grinned.

“No,” Mermista warned. “ _No.”_

“You don’t even know what I was going to do!” he protested.

“You were going to pull some stunt to attract their attention, and then when their guard was down you were going to go out there, sword blazing, and _very loudly_ kick their butts, singing about how great you are the whole time.”

Frosta snickered. “I kinda like that plan.”

Sea Hawk’s face fell and he shuffled his feet. “It might have gone something along those lines, maybe,” he mumbled.

“The whole point of this is to _avoid_ being seen,” Catra said. “Guild of Shadows members aren't your average Horde soldier. They’re lethal killing machines, every one of them.”

“Right…” King Micah said, peering over the corner as the tiefling was currently cheering the half elf on as he tried to lick his own elbow.

“Come on, lick it! Lick that elbow!”

The half elf dropped his arm in defeat. “Like the infinite horizon, it eludes my grasp,” he sighed dejectedly.

“Lethal killing machines, huh.”

“Um,” Perfuma spoke up. “I might be able to make a distraction.”

“What are you thinking, Perfuma?” Adora asked.

An uncharacteristically mischievous smile appeared on Perfuma’s face. “How does them having to chase down a swarm of animals sound?”

“That could work,” Catra said. “Shadow Weaver always flips if she sees animals loose in here. She _really_ hates pests.”

Perfuma nodded, then began to cast a spell. With a wave of her staff, eight badgers appeared. “Go be distracting over there,” she whispered, pointing off further down the hallway. “Make them leave their posts.” The badgers tumbled over themselves as they flooded the passage trying to get to the other side. The guards saw this and jumped in surprise.

“Are those…” the tiefling said.

“How did…” the half elf began.

They looked at the badgers, then at the dungeon entrance, then back at each other. 

“We gotta deal with that, don’t we.”

“Yup.”

“Great.”

“Shadow Weaver will kill us if we don’t.”

“Fair, fair.” The tiefling banged on the dungeon entrance. “Hey! No messing around. We’ll be back.” The two guards ran off to deal with their new badger problem.

Now free to enter the dungeon, the rescue group went to the entrance way. Before them stood a large metal lock. Catra groaned, facepalming. “I could pick that, but I don’t have a-”

“Allow me,” Sea Hawk said as he produced a lockpick. Everyone stared in surprise as he began picking the lock like it was second nature.

“You can pick locks?” Adora said, incredulous.

“Man of many talents,” Sea Hawk replied in a singsong voice. He then added, “When you live a life like mine, you tend to pick up this sort of thing. Useful for all kinds of adventures.” Sea Hawk seemed much happier now that he had a chance to show off one of his “many talents.” Adora noticed that Catra watched him with a look of newfound respect as he worked. With one final click, the lock came apart and the door swung open.

“Swift Wind, keep watch for if the guards come back,” Adora said. He nodded, as much as a spider could nod, and crawled back out. 

As they entered the cell, they quickly saw Bow chained to the wall in a forced sitting position. He looked tired and a bit out of it, but not wounded in a way that required immediate healing. His eyes cracked open and he gazed in surprise and relief at the sight of them. “You’re here,” he whispered, a smile forming on his face.

“Are you alright?” Adora cried, rushing over to him.

“I’ve been better,” he joked.

“Where’s Glimmer? Do you know where she is?” King Micah asked, voice laced with worry.

Bow shook his head. “I’m not sure. She was here for a while, but then Shadow Weaver… _took_ her.” His voice cracked at that last part, and they could all see how he was practically vibrating with worry for Glimmer.

“That’s not good,” Catra said. “We need to get him out of here first, though, then we’ll worry about Glimmer.”

Sea Hawk went over to pick the locks on Bow’s manacles, but as he examined them, they could see confusion and concern flicker across his face. “Um, correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t manacles supposed to have, you know, key holes?” Crowding around Bow’s chains, they realized he was right. The clamps around Bow’s wrists had neither a key hole nor a hinge. It was like the pieces had been fused together with his hands inside them.

“Uh, people? We have a problem,” Swift Wind said. It wasn’t too hard to figure out what, as suddenly the guards came back.

“Hey!” they cried, drawing their weapons. But the guards weren’t fast enough as Adora froze them in place with a spell. They stood there, paralyzed, as they were dragged into the cell. Before they could react, more than half a dozen weapons were pointed at their throats.

“Talk,” Catra ordered as Adora dropped the spell. 

“And if you want to try anything, just know that this-” Adora gestured to the Sword of Protection that had manifested in her hand. “- is a lot faster than the likes of you. Plus I can see in any darkness you make, so don’t try that either.” The tiefling raised an eyebrow in disbelief. “You really want to test me right now?” Adora asked in a low, threatening voice. The eyebrow lowered.

“That’s right!” Sea Hawk cried. “Witness the might of the Best Friend Squad!”

 _“Why do you always have to ruin it,”_ Mermista grumbled, rubbing her temples with the tips of her fingers.

“Now, how do we remove our friend’s restraints?” Catra continued.

“You can’t,” the tiefling said with a defiant voice. “They’re dimensional shackles. The prisoner can’t teleport away with those on them, and they can’t break out by normal means either. There’s no getting them off.”

“Really? No way at all?” A strange, cold anger settled over Adora as she imbued the sword with thunder magic, something that the guards quickly picked up on. “Well, that’s a shame.”

“Wait!” the half elf cried. The tiefling shot him a look, but he pressed on. “They can be taken off only by the person who first chained them.”

“And who’s that?” Adora asked, the odd feeling draining away now that they had begun cooperating. _Weird._ Weirder still that she almost felt disappointed that they had.

“That would be… well, us,” the half elf mumbled.

“Well, it looks like you know what you have to do,” King Micah said.

“We’d be signing our own death warrants,” the tiefling spat. “Shadow Weaver would have our heads for this.”

“And you think we _wouldn’t_ just kill you right here?” Catra asked, moving her spear until it was directly under her throat.

“Also fair,” she choked out.

“Or how about no one dies?” Perfuma cut in. “Just unchain our friend and we’ll be on our way.”

The half elf nodded rapidly. The tiefling, on the other hand, had conflicting looks of anger and fear as she surveyed the situation before her. But she came to a decision soon enough. “Fine,” she reluctantly grumbled. The half elf, who had been watching her, awaiting her response, sagged in relief. 

The two of them slowly got up with their hands in the air and made their way over to Bow, with everyone’s weapons leveled at them at all times. Each of them pressed a hand onto one of the manacles, and a glow appeared before the restraints fell off. Bow got up to his feet unsteadily, rubbing his hands in discomfort. Adora was quick to support him as he struggled to gain his balance.

“Welcome back,” she said as she helped him up.

“Not out of the woods yet,” he replied. “Thanks, though. For being here.”

“Hey, Arrow boy,” Catra said as she walked up to him. “This belongs to you, and I’m tired of carrying it.” She unslung his quiver from her back and tossed it to him, which he luckily managed to catch. He held it in his arms like it was a newborn child before pulling out his bow and slinging the quiver over his back. He beamed at the tabaxi girl. “Thanks, Catra. I appreciate it.”

Catra looked away, seeming embarrassed by his gratitude. “Yeah, well, don’t mention it.”

“Alright, we did what you asked,” the half elf said.

“Hey, they could give us information too,” Mermista pointed out, nodding to them.

“Yes! For we have not one, but two crewmates to rescue!” Sea Hawk said.

“Where is Princess Glimmer?” Adora asked.

“S-Shadow Weaver took her,” the half elf said, painfully aware of the multitude of weapons that were still pointing at him. “Said she wanted to…”

“Crack her open and see what made her so special while she waited on Hordak to come get her,” the tiefling finished. “She was intrigued by the girl’s magic, or something. She’s always running experiments on one creature or another.”

“She’s _experimenting_ on her?” Bow cried, horrified.

“And _Hordak’s_ coming here?” Adora asked. That was bad. That was very, very bad. They had to get Glimmer back, and fast. For multiple reasons, it seemed.

The look that appeared on King Micah’s face was one that could only be described as unbridled fury. “ _Where. Is. She. Keeping. Her?”_

“Probably in her sanctum! I don’t know!” the tiefling said, hands pushed further in the air as if the higher they were the more innocent she was.

Catra hissed in frustration. “Well, there goes the whole plan. We’re going to be running headfirst into a fight if we go there.”

“Then fight is what we’ll do,” King Micah growled, his tone leaving no room for argument. Frosta silently pumped her fist in the corner. King Micah turned to Catra. “You can take us there?” She nodded somewhat reluctantly. He then turned back to the guards. “Then we’re done with you.”

“You’re not going to kill them, are you?” Perfuma asked.

The twos’ eyes widened. “Wait-”

“Well, we could always just tie them up,” Sea Hawk said, producing a long string of rope. “I happen to have just the thing.” Everyone looked at him, baffled.

“Do you always carry stuff like this?” Catra asked. She turned to Mermista. “Does he always carry stuff like this?”

“I stopped asking about it a long time ago,” she replied as Sea Hawk proceeded to tie up and gag the two guards. Within seconds, they were bound on the floor as they stared at the Rebellion force before them.

Everyone filed out of the room, with King Micah the last to leave. Stepping back a few feet from the door, he blasted the lock with fire repeatedly until it was just a molten blob of metal. No one would be getting in or out of there anytime soon. “Let’s go,” he said, and they were all moving again to their next objective.

“ _It’s a party, Bow. Don’t bring your quiver, it’ll be weird. Besides, what’s the worst that could happen?”_ Adora heard Bow mutter mockingly to himself as they made their way through the temple. _“Nice going, Bow. I’m never leaving this behind again.”_

Shadow Weaver’s sanctum was on the second level, according to Catra. She led them up the steps to the next floor, and as they moved closer Adora could see how nervous she was becoming. Catra’s fur was puffed up, and her eyes darted around like she was afraid they would be attacked at any second. Adora moved closer to put a hand on her shoulder. Catra flinched at the touch but relaxed once she saw it was her, the involuntary movement breaking Adora’s heart. She was going to make Shadow Weaver _suffer_ for everything she did to Catra.

“You ok?” Adora asked in a quiet voice to avoid attracting everyone else’s attention.

Catra had a troubled look in her eyes as she spoke. “After everything she’s done, even after I got my butt handed to me back at Prom, now I’m walking right back towards her. Towards Shadow Weaver.”

“We’ll all be right here with you. _I’ll_ be right here with you, Catra. I won’t let her hurt you ever again.”

“But what if she hurts _you_? What if I lose against her again? What if-”

“Catra,” Adora interjected before Catra could spiral further. “That won’t happen.”

“But how do you _know?”_ There was a hint of desperation in her voice as she asked the question.

“Because I believe in everyone here. And I believe in _you,_ Catra,” Adora reassured her. “She’s never fought anyone like you.”

“Yeah she did. You were there. I lost,” Catra deadpanned.

“Well, she’s never fought anyone like you twice.”

Catra cracked a smile at that. “You’re such an idiot.”

“I thought we had established that already,” Adora said, not minding being called an idiot if it made Catra feel better.

Catra snorted, but a more peaceful expression settled on her face. “Thanks, Adora. That, uh... I feel better now, I think.”

They were snapped out of their moment by a piercing howl that echoed through the halls. It sounded like the screeches of a furious, dying animal. The blood drained from Perfuma’s face as she heard the cry. “Oh, for Gates’ sake,” they heard as they hid from a passing Spectre. “That stupid thing got its muzzle off again. I hate hearing those screams.” The horror on Perfuma’s face made room for anger as she heard that.

“They…” The rage was beginning to overtake the horror now. _“Such disregard for life!”_ she hissed as she began to make her way to the door out of which the noises came.

“Princess!”

“Perfuma!”

“Come back!” 

“You’re going to get us caught, you idiot!”

But the elf druid was on a mission now as she imbued her staff with power. She struck the lock on the door over and over until the lock shattered and fell to the ground. Adora had only seen that look of rage and determination once before, when the Horde had attacked her home. They hurriedly made their way over to where Perfuma was, with Catra at the front of the pack.

“Flowers, you can’t just go barging into stuff like that! Do you know what could have happened if…” Catra trailed off, and Adora could see why as she viewed the interior of the room. The entire place was covered in deep gouges, like some feral creature had gone mad trying to get out. And it didn’t take a genius to guess what did it. Chained in the room was a massive quadrupedal creature with bulging muscles under its gray fur. To Adora, the monster resembled a cross between a wolf and a panther, with the sharp gaze of a predator _._ And, as its striking blue eyes swiveled to Catra, it looked like the thing had found its prey. 

As it strained against the chains that held it, Adora had a split second to notice a few things. Firstly, they resembled the chains that had held Bow, the so-called “dimensional shackles.” But unlike Bow’s which were shiny and new, these looked cracked and worn, like the creature had been fighting to break out for a very long time. The most pressing detail of the bunch, however, was the fact that the monster _was_ about to break out. The cracks grew like spiderwebs until the chains shattered with a spray of energy.

So now they were faced with an escaped monster. An escaped monster that had singled out Catra the instant she had walked in and had pounced on her as soon as the chains broke, snarling with fury. It knocked her to the ground before anyone could react and held her there as she frantically tried to escape. Then, it opened its mouth and _spoke_ as it raised a clawed, five-digit paw to strike.

“Time to die, Shadow scum. I’m going to rip your face off!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaannnnnddd looks like this is a two parter. Man, I guess I really do have a thing for cliffhangers. Stay tuned! Hopefully the next chapter will come out sooner rather than later.
> 
> Side note: Don't worry, Shadow Adora will show up again very soon... Just a bit longer...
> 
> SPELL LIST  
> "There was a flash of light, and they all found themselves in a dark room." King Micah used Teleportation Circle  
> "In a matter of seconds, however, it was lit up with light from King Micah’s ornate staff." King Micah used Light  
> "As King Micah cast a spell, slits opened up in the wall in the shape of a door." King Micah used Stone Shape  
> "...as he sealed up the entrance behind them." King Micah used Stone Shape  
> "Adora clutched her hand as she weaved magic through the air that would mask their travels." Catra used Pass Without Trace  
> "With a wave of her staff, eight badgers appeared." Perfuma used Conjure Animals  
> "Adora froze them in place with a spell." Adora used Hold Person  
> "Adora as she imbued the sword with thunder magic..." Adora readied Booming Blade  
> "... he blasted the lock with fire repeatedly until it was just a molten blob of metal." King Micah used Fire Bolt multiple times  
> "... as she imbued her staff with power." Perfuma used Shillelagh


End file.
